How long until they have to stop giving out the Heisman Trophy?
I asked that jokingly to a couple of other writers after finding out about ESPN’s report that a man claiming to represent Auburn quarterback and current Heisman front-runner Cam Newton asked Mississippi State for $180,000 to deliver the junior college transfer to Starkville. According to the report, the going rate was $200,000 for the 6-foot-6, dual-threat signal caller, but they were willing to give ex-Florida offense coordinator Dan Mullen a discount. How nice.
Before I go any further, even if someone representing Newton asked Mississippi State for money, that doesn’t mean Newton TOOK money from Auburn. And it doesn’t mean that a man claiming to represent Newton actually represented Newton, as convoluted as that may sound.
Until the NCAA comes out and sanctions someone following an investigation, Newton’s hands are clean.
That being said, the story sounds pretty thorough and believable, especially considering Cam’s father Cecil Newton’s church somehow found the money to renovate its out-of-code facilities despite Cam’s mother, Jackie, admitting the church is extremely poor.
Perhaps this story will be resolved by the end of this football season. Perhaps it will be resolved before Newton jumps to the NFL, be it after this season or the next. Or perhaps it will be resolved five years into Newton’s professional career — the same amount of time it took the NCAA to hit USC with sanctions from its Reggie Bush investigation.
And like Bush — to adapt a quote from the greatest show in the history of television, HBO’s “The Wire” — maybe Newton wins a Heisman with this stuff, and maybe he’ll have to give it back.
But if this matter isn’t resolved by the time the Heisman committee calls its finalists to New York, and it almost certainly will not be, we’re about to enter a new discussion to the college football arena.
How will suspicion of taking improper benefits affect Heisman voting?
Just as baseball writers are now wrestling with how to judge potential Hall of Fame careers by admitted and suspected steroid users, Heisman voters will be forced to choose: cast a vote for Cam and run the risk of having to take away that trophy a few years down the line, or play it safe and pick a guy that may not be as deserving based on performance.
It’s a decision I’m glad I don’t have to make.
Ideally, we would all like to advise the voters to pick the best candidate, as Newton and everyone else in this country are innocent until proven guilty.
And maybe they will award the trophy to Newton.
But how many trophies will have to be given back before it starts to affect their thinking?
How many vacated Heismans will be needed to tarnish the legacy of college sports’ most prestigious individual award?
I don’t know the answer to either of those questions, but my best guess would be somewhere between zero and one.
Unfortunately, we’ll find out soon enough.
