Cam Newton Investigation: Auburn Releases Docs Detailing Agent’s Efforts

From Deadspin’s collection of media emails to Auburn’s PR department before, during and after the Cam Newton scandal, a glimpse into coachspeak being constructed even before the coach knows he needs to speak it:

↵↵

Why yes, the NCAA’s investigation into Cam Newton’s recruitment at Auburn and Mississippi State is over. But loose ends are going to continue presenting themselves over time, so it might be years before the story stops evolving.

The latest: Jay G. Tate of the Montgomery Advertiser reports the findings of a Freedom of Information Act request into Auburn’s records from the investigation. There’s still nothing that incriminates Newton, of course, but we do get some more detail about a side character or two.

↵↵

On Track Em Tigers, an SB Nation blog devoted to covering Auburn athletics, they wrote a post simply entitled “Vindicated.”

Team Speed Kills, SB Nation’s blog covering the SEC as a whole, also weighed in on what should be the end of talking about Newton’s time as a Tiger -- even if people will probably continue to talk about it.

Wednesday, the NCAA said the evidence in the Auburn/Cam Newton investigation didn’t meet the burden of proof necessary for major violations. And so, they consider the matter closed.

Which now puts them on the same page as Cam Newton himself.

Less than a year after allegations of improper benefits related to the recruitment of former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton surfaced, the NCAA has closed the book on the investigation without levying major violations. The NCAA investigated claims involving Newton’s recruitment, as well as pay-for-play allegations that came to light during an HBO Real Sports show.

After doing its due diligence, and interview a wide array of people related to the case, the NCAA said the evidence didn’t meet the burden of proof necessary for major violations

The Danny Sheridan “bag man” saga seems to have finally crashed and burned. To recap: Sheridan claimed someone at the NCAA told him name of a man who paid Cecil Newton. After weeks of trolling the Auburn fanbase, teasing information and maintaining his lawyers forbid him from revealing the name, something had to give.

And because Sheridan said the NCAA gave him the information -- which, LOL -- it had to get involved in the whole fiasco. After Sheridan visited Outside the Lines to, once again, say nothing, the NCAA released the following statement.

During a radio interview with Paul Finebaum at SEC Media Day on Wednesday, Danny Sheridan of the USA Today said that his sources at the NCAA believe they have found a third-party “bag man” who helped Auburn University obtain the services of quarterback and 2010 Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.

Turns out, the phrase “bag man” might not have been the best way to say that.

During a radio interview with Paul Finebaum at SEC Media Day on Wednesday, Danny Sheridan of the USA Today said that his sources at the NCAA believe they have found a third-party “bag man” who helped Auburn University obtain the services of quarterback and 2010 Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.

”The investigation, of course, is ongoing,” Sheridan told Finebaum. “And what they’re looking at now, and I don’t know if the NCAA can hang their hat on this, I don’t know if it’ll be successful, but obviously they feel there was money that exchanged hands. Proving it is another matter.

Auburn fans and coaches are understandably a bit frustrated about the continuing investigation surrounding Cam Newton. And, yes, if you’re wondering, there is very much a continuing investigation into Cam Newton’s recruitment to play for the Tigers.

So Auburn head football coach Gene Chizik decided to take advantage of a presentation by the NCAA to the league’s athletics directors and basketball and football coaches to see if he could find out what was going on. It did not go well.

Newton said he hasn’t talked to his father about whether anything forbidden occurred during recruitment. When asked for his speculation, Newton said, “It’s not for me to say.”

You’ll also be shocked to discover Cam Newton refers to himself in the third person: “Auburn possessed what’s best for Cam Newton … Everything I’ve done at this university, I’ve done it the right way. I’m a person that did no wrong.”

And this: what if Mississippi State or Auburn had paid Cecil Newton without Cam Newton’s knowledge? Would Newton be eligible in that instance? Since when is the failure to coerce a conspirator a winning defense against having attempted to do so?

The NCAA deemed Auburn QB Cam Newton eligible to play in the SEC Championship game, according to a statement released Wednesday by the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff.

The timeline of events here works like this:

Silence the crickets, message boarders: The Cam Newton investigation, after a multi-day holiday break, is spooling back up in the public view. Kenny Rogers, the alleged runner in the alleged deal-brokering that went on trying to bring Newton to Mississippi State from juco, will be meeting with officials from Mississippi’s State Department on December 9. It’s not a meeting that sounds like it’ll be particularly fun for Rogers:

Rogers’ attorney, Doug Zeit, said his client will meet with officials from the secretary’s office and has been interviewed by the NCAA.

[...]

The Secretary of State’s office enforces regulations under the Uniform Athlete Agent Act, which governs sports agents in Mississippi. Violators can be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison and pay up to a $10,000 fine along with additional civil penalties.

And so far, that’s all we’ve got. This is the speed at which we can expect news to dribble out of Birmingham, Starkville, Auburn, and wherever else this case ends up putting down roots.

Follow this story here in our StoryStream and on our Mississippi State and Auburn blogs, For Whom The Cowbell Tolls and Track ‘Em Tigers.

One of the latest-breaking pieces of the Cam Newton investigation is Mississippi State booster Bill Bell’s revelation that he received a text message containing a “payment plan” that would have sent Newton to play for the Bulldogs if executed. Via his lawyer, Doug Zeit, agent-like substance Kenny Rogers has as much as admitted to being the inquiring party, and he’s being extremely quick about shoveling blame in Cecil Newton’s direction:

An attorney for Kenny Rogers says his client knows he made “a stupid decision” when he sent a fellow Mississippi State booster a text of Cecil Newton’s payment plan to secure his son, Cam Newton’s, commitment to the Bulldogs.

In a phone interview with The Associated Press Thursday, Doug Zeit says Rogers sent the text after Cecil Newton insisted he do it.The latest ESPN dispatch is full of carefully specific lawyerspeak from both Zeit and the Newton family’s attorney, George Lawson. Among the choicer bits: Zeit stating that no money changed hands (regarding Mississippi State), the insistence that the younger Newton has never asked for money, and this gem from Lawson: “Cam Newton knew nothing about any money discussions if any discussions were had.” Yes, everything about this sounds completely aboveboard.

Though it sounded sensational at the time, the involvement of the FBI in the Cam Newton investigation has turned out to be far from conjecture. John Bond, the ex-Bulldog player who serves as the connection from Mississippi State University to agent-like substance and alleged Newton family representative Kenny Rogers, confirmed through his lawyer that he’s spoken with agents regarding this case. And according to Rogers’ own lawyer, he’s apparently next in line to be questioned by the feds.

So as far as the investigation itself, where are we regarding Cam Newton’s eligibility? Three tidbits from the latest ESPN report mark the way:

Friday, Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin acknowledged in a statement that the school “was approached with an offer to provide an extra benefit” and that the school refused.

Auburn has contended that Newton is an “eligible student-athlete” in light of reports that Rogers, acting on behalf of Cecil Newton, told two Mississippi State representatives -- Bond and Bill Bell -- that it would take money to get Newton to play at their school.

[...]

[MSU booster Bill] Bell, contacted Thursday night by ESPN.com, confirmed Cecil Newton did ask for money in exchange for Cam Newton to sign with Mississippi State. Bell said he was contacted by the NCAA about the matter and spoke to an investigator earlier this week.

We have a federal investigation; we have an NCAA investigation, but nothing that’s been made public indicates that Auburn University was involved in financial dealings with the Newton family, which puts him in the clear, no? Not so, according to blogger/lawyer hybrid Clay Travis:

Just a touch more intrigue leading up to the 3:30 Georgia-Auburn kickoff, because if there’s one thing this game is lacking it’s extraneous distraction: Auburn’s Rivals outfit is reporting that “at least one representative of the NCAA” questioned Cam Newton and his parents on Thursday. Salient tidbits:

The source could not confirm if the NCAA came to any definitive conclusions on Cam Newton’s eligibility following the meeting.

[...]

Jay Jacobs, Auburn’s athletic director, would not comment Friday when asked if Cam Newton was eligible to play against the Bulldogs.

Newton was seen boarding the team bus Friday in Auburn.

Beyond that, we know that Newton’s taken the field for warmups with the rest of his team, and is getting a riotous reception from the home crowd. All indications point to him starting for the Tigers this afternoon, but university officials remain closemouthed, and Gene Chizik has canceled his pregame interview with CBS’s Tracy Wolfson.

Cecil Newton, the father of Auburn superstar quarterback Cam Newton, has served as a central figure throughout the NCAA’s investigation. While the elder Newton has denied taking money from Auburn or any other school, an Atlanta TV station is reporting that he has admitted to talking about money with someone representing Mississippi State. From WSB-2:

In the report, Cecil Newton is careful to note that Cam Newton had no knowledge of the conversation. The ex-Mississippi State player cited in the report was not named. Regardless of the level of culpability held by the Newtons, if this report is accurate, then it’s clear that violation of NCAA regulations was at least contemplated.

Charles Robinson’s getting in the Cam Newton investigation game, reporting that the NCAA could (very strong emphasis on could, please) recommend that Auburn sit Cam Newton for Saturday’s game against Georgia -- regardless of whether or not he had any knowledge of his father’s alleged recruiting antics:

Under NCAA guidelines, Newton could be held responsible for any alleged solicitation on the part of Rogers or his father, and determined to be ineligible. According to past precedent, the NCAA’s next step would be to inform Auburn of Newton’s potential ineligibility and recommend he be held out of competition indefinitely. If Auburn were to ignore that recommendation and Newton were eventually be found to be ineligible, the school could be subject to more stringent sanctioning.

Though it’s still completely unknown whether Auburn took any action in the recruitment of Cam Newton that could affect the validity of their accumulated wins, the case for sitting the Heisman Trophy frontrunner to ward off fallout from eligibility problems strengthens with yet another puzzle piece: Mississippi State booster Bill Bell confirmed to ESPN tonight that Cecil Newton asked him for money and that he’s been questioned by NCAA investigators.

ESPN is reporting Cam Newton’s father, Cecil Newton, spoke of needing “more than a scholarship” during the star quarterbacks recruitment process last year. Both Cam and Cecil Newton allegedly confirmed in two separate phone interviews that a pay-for-play plan was needed to secure the quarterback. The sources, both with recruiting ties to Mississippi State, added Cam Newton called to inform them his father had chosen Auburn for him, saying the “the money was too much.” Mississippi State relayed the information to the SEC compliance office in January.

Newton has been embroiled in controversy for the better part of the last week. After allegations of recruiting violationssurfaced on Thursday, it’s been open season on the Heisman contender from Auburn. It got worse for Newton, at least in the PR department, yesterday after allegations of academic impropriety during his time at Florida came to light. Auburn head coach Gene Chizik spent the day feverishly denying the allegations in an emotional statement to the media. Even if Newton did cheat while at Florida, it wouldn’t affect his current status at Auburn.

Late Monday night, FoxSports broke the news that Auburn quarterback Cam Newtown reportedly had three separate instances of cheating during his time at Florida, and faced expulsion as a result. Of course, this news comes just days after allegations of recruiting violations surfaced.

There are two important things to keep in mind: 1) cheating at Florida should not affect his eligibility at Auburn, and 2) this investigation is hardly over.

It didn’t end there, however. When asked to resubmit the work, the source said Newton handed over a paper purchased on the Internet. The teacher caught attempt No. 2 at cheating, sending Newton to the Florida Student Conduct Committee for his efforts. If nothing else he was persistent.

Sure, his recruitment is the subject of an NCAA investigation that could derail his Heisman Trophy campaign and Auburn’s undefeated season. But that doesn’t mean Cam Newton can’t take it all in stride.

In post-game comments following a five-touchdown day against Chattanooga — comments Auburn asked reporters to keep free of investigation mentions — the Auburn quarterback demurred at first, then dropped one of the quotes of the year in response to the tumult.

Add Cam Newton to the list of people denying that Cam Newton did anything wrong after the news that a former Mississippi State quarterback allegedly tried to auction off the player’s services as he was leaving the junior college ranks.

The money quote: