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Post Well, that settles the Cam Newton story

Wednesday December 1, 2010

Did you know Cam Newton was ineligible for the past day?

The NCAA concluded on Monday that a violation of amateurism rules occurred, therefore Auburn University declared the (Newton) ineligible yesterday for violations of NCAA amateurism rules.

Not to worry, because it took less than a day for Newton to be declared “immediately eligible to compete” by the NCAA. Why was Newton ineligible in the first place?

According to facts of the case agreed upon by Auburn University and the NCAA enforcement staff, the student-athlete’s father and an owner of a scouting service worked together to actively market the student-athlete as a part of a pay-for-play scenario in return for Newton’s commitment to attend college and play football. NCAA rules (Bylaw 12.3.3) do not allow individuals or entities to represent a prospective student-athlete for compensation to a school for an athletic scholarship….

…When a school discovers an NCAA rules violation has occurred, it must declare the student-athlete ineligible and may request the student-athlete’s eligibility be reinstated. Reinstatement decisions are made by the NCAA national office staff and can include conditions such as withholding from competition and repayment of extra benefits. Newton was reinstated without any conditions.

But wait: didn’t the NCAA just confirm that the rumored pay-for-play scheme was real? Yes, they did. But because the NCAA found that they did “not have sufficient evidence that Cam Newton or anyone from Auburn was aware of this activity,” Newton had “not participated while ineligible.” To be clear: parents, guardians, and other individuals acting on their own behalf can apparently come to schools with their hand out without it affecting the eligibility of the student-athlete.

So everyone got away without consequences? Hardly. “Auburn University has limited the access Newton’s father has to the athletics program,” and there was a stern finger-wagging by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. That’ll show ’em. Meanwhile, the eyes of every prospect’s parents just did this:

Eyes dollar sign

2 Responses to 'Well, that settles the Cam Newton story'

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  • I can’t wait to shop my son to Auburn Univerity and no one will know but me.

  • This is really the worst thing the NCAA has done so far. Reggie Bush should sue them for millions since he claimed all along he knew nothing.