Thursday, December 2, 2010

Cam Newton: NCAA Says Play Away

Before I get into this post, let me say up front that I am glad that Cam Newton has been ruled eligible to play by the NCAA in the SEC Championship Game Saturday night. He's evidently been eligible to play all season, so why stop now? Party on, Garth! However, there is something about the start of the season that I don't understand as far as the NCAA is concerned. It has been said/written that Mississippi State reported to the NCAA in July that they had 'concerns' regarding the recruitment of Newton. If indeed that prompted the governing body of intercollegiate athletics to begin "looking into" these reported concerns, why was the Auburn quarterback eligible to play at the beginning of the season if the investigation was ongoing? It had to be "ongoing" then because it's supposedly still "ongoing" now. The University of North Carolina had several players who sat out games pending the results of investigations into their attending a Miami party hosted by agents. Some of these Tarheels were eventually reinstated to play, and some were not. Georgia's A.J. Green missed two games while the investigation of him selling his jersey online was "ongoing', then two additional games when he was determined guilty. The two additional games were reportedly because he sold his jersey to an agent, even though Green maintained he never knew the guy was an agent. Cam Newton, as well, maintains he knew nothing of his father's solicitation of money for his athletic services. See, the NCAA isn't showing consistency in their actions and/or explanations of sanctions/non-sanctions. One other point; if it is indeed true that Newton wanted to attend Mississippi State all along but his father said you're going to Auburn, why would his father be so adamant about the college choice if it wasn't an issue of money? The NCAA might want to clear up this "loophole" that the good Rev. Newton has just exploited. If not, there could be other dads down the road who seek money for their sons. Because the way this ruling has gone, it's o.k. as long as the son knows nothing about the deal. It's a good thing for Rev. Newton's congregation that the teachings of his chosen profession have no loopholes to exploit.

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