Sources: Cam Newton says "insert vague, out of context statement here"

Cam Newton is in the news again, but for something that original broke last week. An earlier post discussed the Miss. State pay to play discussion that supposedly occurred when Newton was being wooed. Now “sources” are reporting that during a phone conversation Cecil Newton, Cam’s father, mentioned that it would take “more than a scholarship” to get Cam to play at Auburn. “Sources” are also reporting that a dismayed Cam Newton told an individual that he would be attending Auburn at his father behest because “the money was too much.”

Do not construe this post as advancing the theory that Cam Newton is guilty of any violation or wrongdoing. I actually feel the exact opposite. The stories on Cam Newton from the past week are a clear example of the unsubstantiated claims being reported by unnamed sources as “pretty true” or “possibly true” – i.e. there is a continued slide towards the breakdown of journalistic integrity. Has anyone noticed that “more than a scholarship” and “the money was too much” are the only statements being quoted? Furthermore, has anyone noticed that only negative connotations are being attached to these statements? When I was considering which college to attend I considered more than just what scholarship I was being offered. I considered academics, the campus, girls, athletics – in effect, the school I choose had “more than a scholarship” to offer. Maybe Cecil Newton wanted assurance that his kid would be looked after by the coaching staff, or that he would have access to tutors, or any other number of perfectly plausible explanations, but ones you won’t hear on ESPN, Fox Sports, etc. With regards to the “the money was too much” statement – maybe Cam had to attend to Auburn because the alleged offer of money to play at Miss State was too much to get involved with, i.e. it was over the line. To clarify my point, what if Cam was offered money to play at Miss State and Cecil Newton, recognizing that his son had already encountered trouble, wanted to steer clear of any trouble that accepting money would possibly entail. 

Maybe Cam and Cecil Newton were up to no good a few years back, I would like to give them the benefit of the doubt. I would like to see a little more deference and discretion when reporting these so called stories. Heisman votes are already coming out and saying that now they won’t vote for Newton. If that is the case then the Heisman and the voters who determine the winner will lose a lot of respect in my, and probably a lot of other people’s, book. I won’t even go into how the NCAA has had this information since January and investigations are ongoing. 

Also, I am with Chuck in that I do not hate Auburn like I hate Florida, Tennessee, and The Nerds. Maybe it is because we have had Auburn’s number for the past decade. Although I am fairly sure that this year Auburn will have Georgia’s number…but, I’ll save those thoughts for another post.