I don’t want to believe this.
I don’t want to believe that the sport of college football is stained with feces.
But as a reporter who covers the game, I won’t be so naïve.
Auburn quarterback and former Gator Cam Newton is in the middle of a whirlwind that began last week when he was accused of being auctioned off to different teams for six figures. Late Monday night, reports surfaced that he was caught cheating in classes multiple times while he was at UF.
And late Tuesday ESPN reported that Newton called a Mississippi State recruiter to say money was the reason he signed with Auburn.
Is any of this true? Nobody knows for sure. But I’m going to go against the popular American belief: You are innocent until proven guilty.
In college football it’s the other way around: Newton is guilty until proven innocent.
Let’s break this down further. Newton was allegedly shopped around to schools for $180,000 or more by a shady agent. Now people say he cheated in classes at Florida.
Which of the two is the surprising accusation? This has all happened before. Anybody remember Reggie Bush or the FSU cheating scandal?
That, right there, is the saddest aspect of this entire story. The fact that there is nothing in these allegations that should shock anyone.
Another question: Who cares if he cheated?
I usually don’t like to generalize, but I’m pretty sure he isn’t the only collegiate athlete to take some short cuts in classes. Two-year-old stories of Newton cheating at UF do not interest me.
Instead, let’s focus on something else. Arrests and troubled athletes go hand in hand with winning. Schools can’t keep players out of trouble and graduate players while still taking home college football titles.
The Oregon Ducks spent the last couple of seasons getting arrested — currently No. 1 in the BCS. Yes, a school in Oregon is atop the rankings.
During coach Urban Meyer’s magical run he has had at least 30 player arrests.
USC has been great this decade. Oh wait, it’s on probation now.
Don’t get me started on Miami’s unprecedented five national championships in less than 20 years. Just go back and watch ESPN’s splendid documentary “The U” to see how those players acted.
This trend goes on and on. There may be that one school that does it the right way and succeeds on the field for a year or two like Stanford, but that success is often short-lived. If you want to dominate for a long time and make a mark on the college football landscape, you cheat.
People are blind to this because, well, it’s kind of an ugly reality.
This is why I only come away with one thing from these allegations about Newton: Auburn is going to be damn good for years to come.
Congrats, Tigers fans.
