I’m sure you’ve all heard today, Auburn quarterback Cam Newton was declared eligible by the NCAA. It was rumored that his father was shopping the Heisman hopeful to colleges in a pay-for-play endeavor, most notably to Mississippi State. While the same was said for 2011 recruit Anthony Davis (for all you Kentucky-haters out there wanting to make a comparison), it was determined that the Davis rumor was just that – a rumor perpetuated by a rival coach (I’m looking at you Bruce Weber). From everything I have read and seen, the Cam Newton rumor was actually true. ESPN is confirming that Newton’s father told officials [I]“it would take anywhere between $100,000 and $180,000 for his son to play at Mississippi State.”[/I] ([URL=”http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5870788″]source[/URL])
Why did the NCAA clear Newton? According to NCAA VP of academic and membership affairs, they determined that [I]“Based on the information available to the reinstatement staff at this time, we do not have sufficient evidence that Cam Newton or anyone from Auburn was aware of this activity”[/I]. ([URL=”http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5870788″]source[/URL]) I was watching ESPN tonight and Dick Vitale commented on the subject. When asked if there was anything he could compare this to, Vitale immediately brought up Kentucky and Enes Kanter. He said that Newton’s father was shopping his kid for six figures, while Kanter’s father was turning down millions of dollars to ensure that his kid could remain eligible to play college ball. Newton was over 18 when the infraction took place, Kanter was 16 when his happened. Vitale said that the NCAA needs to reinstate Kanter’s eligibility.
I am going to withhold my opinion until I hear the NCAA’s ruling on Kanter’s appeal. But if they deny, Kentucky fans will go ballistic – and they’ll be justified.
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