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Auburn, take care of this. IMMEDIATELY.
Auburn, this is on you. This isn’t a court of law, and no, you’re not inno
cent until proven guilty. If the story is true and a representative for Cam
Newton demanded $200,000 from Mississippi State for the star quarterback to
sign on the dotted line out of junior college, then two plus two equals four
and you are dead meat unless you take the lead and come up with answers. No
w. Right now.
Actually, you’re dead meat anyway. Unless Mississippi State representatives
are lying their tails off, and if that’s true then they’re dead in the wa
ter and heads will roll in Starkville, then Auburn, your football program is
entering very, very scary territory.
Of course, Auburn is going to demand that a smoking gun turns up before firi
ng anyone, and because it’s the SEC, and because it’s the south, and becau
se it’s football, and because it involves the Heisman favorite, and because
it involves the national championship, there’s going to be a lot of talkin
g, perhaps a committee will be formed that talks about an investigation, and
blah, blah, blah.
There’s no time for that.
Auburn, your reputation as an academic institution, which is what you allege
dly are, and your credibility as a university is on the line here. On the me
re suspicion of impropriety, you have to suspend Newton. Yes, your prize JUC
O transfer, who left Florida after getting arrested on three felony counts r
elating to a stolen laptop computer, can’t wear an Auburn uniform until mor
e of the story is uncovered. (And Florida, you had better get working on you
r story about how you got Newton to come to Gainesville in the first place.)
Again, this isn’t a court of law. He’s guilty until he proves his innocen
ce on this one since this goes beyond a message board rumor or some rumbling
s from insiders. Do you really think Mississippi State officials would put t
heir neck on this type of a chopping block on a mere allegation or in an att
empt at gamesmanship? Of course not.
No, Gene Chizik shouldn’t be fired right now without any investigation, and
Newton doesn’t have to be booted off the team yet, but neither one should
be allowed to wear the Auburn colors for the foreseeable future. They can’t
as long there's any question whatsoever over if they're dirty or not.
Auburn, you have to be proactive here to the nth degree. It’s up to you to
tell us what happened, because if it’s the NCAA that ends up doing the legw
ork and it, or some news organization, finds out that someone in your progra
m paid to have Newton come in and play quarterback, you’re going to become
very familiar with three letters. S.M.U.
Don’t worry right now about the 2010 dream season that’s about to go up in
a puff of smoke, and the Heisman race should be the furthest thing from you
r mind. Your football program and your national reputation are at stake here
. It’s up to you to grill Chizik and the assistants, and put Newton under a
hot lamp, and demand to know the truth, and then you get to the bottom of t
his and act by 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. You find out how Newton ended up at
your program and you connect the dots yourself. Not tomorrow, not after brea
kfast, NOW. Because if you don’t, and if you try to hem, haw, and wait for
the process to play itself out, and it turns out he got paid to play for the
Tigers, you are completely and totally fried as in Death Penalty time. This
is that big.
This isn’t Reggie Bush going rogue and taking some coin from a marketing co
mpany. This isn’t Marcell Dareus getting jiggy with it at a party thrown by
an agent. This isn’t A.J. Green selling a jersey. This isn’t North Caroli
na players sticking around for an extra year, but making it worth their whil
e by getting involved with agents. If this is true, this is someone paying a
player to come play football at Auburn University. This is as bad as it get
s. This hits the core of collegiate athletics, and the NCAA isn't going to t
ake it easy in any way.
From a practical sense, Auburn doesn’t need Newton or Chizik this weekend t
o beat Chattanooga. They should both sit out and give this time to breathe,
if for no other reason than to show that the university is on the case and i
s more than just a little concerned. The key right now is to not say or do a
nything that might seem like you’re going to sweep this ...
"We have been made aware of the allegation,” said Auburn media relations di
rector Kirk Sampson. “Cam Newton is eligible to play football at Auburn."
S. M. U. |
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