Cam Newton Scandal in College Football

Old Problem, Current Player

In the midst of a Heisman year, it has surfaced that Auburn super-Quarterback Cam Newton and Kenneth Rodgers, the person who represented Cam as a recruit, allegedly sought $180,000 from Mississippi State in order for Cam Newton to play there. Obviously, the deal didn’t happen because Newton is at Auburn now, but these allegations are the last thing that the BCS needs to be hearing right now.

Not only is Cam Newton having a record breaking year, setting the SEC single season record for most rushing yards by a QB, he is also a Heisman Trophy front runner. In addition,
Newton has the Tigers ranked #2 in the BCS polls and if they win out, will no doubt be playing in the National Championship game.

However, this new breakthrough proves not only to be detrimental to Cam Newton and the Tigers, but to the BCS almost as much. This is one of the only times where a current college player has been accused of such a thing as asking for money from a college. Sure, Reggie Bush had to give up his Heisman Trophy for receiving money from USC, but that was 5 years later. Cam Newton’s troubles are happening RIGHT NOW, it the middle of his college season. There is the biggest difference, and if Newton is found guilty of such accusations a whole new chapter is opened up in this story.

Why is it the BCS's problem? Other than the fact that one of the players is being accused of asking for money to play at a college, the BCS takes a huge credibility hit here. There is just something about having a current NCAA football player go through these charges that makes all the difference. Reggie Bush may have been punished, but he is still playing in the NFL. He still has his Super Bowl ring. But Newton could see suspension. Whereas other athletes haven’t seen on-field punishment, Cam may see it here due to his still current position as student-athlete. Also, another big issue is whether or not this will effect Heisman votes. The NCAA obviously doens't want to have to go through what they did for Bush, having the trophy returned to them. Thus, this may change voters' opinions on who they should vote for in order to avoid another embarrassing moment in Heisman Trophy history.

Hopefully, this breakthrough will prove to college athletes that it is possible to get caught while still in college. Where as before, athletes were being caught while in the NFL, where the NCAA has no jurisdiction for punishment, you can be assured that an athlete found guilty of such rule breaking while still in college will be used to make an example out of.

Don’t Blame the Messenger

Thanks to John Luchs and his eye-opening confession, the sports world and it’s fans are now fully aware of the agent problems in college football. In Luchs’ tell all interview to Sports Illustrated, he revealed, among many other things, that agents paying college athletes, a big NO-NO in the rule books, was more common than people believed.

Although this interview seems to have opened the flood gates for college football scandals to be discovered, there is no reason to put Luchs in front of it all. Yes, he paid players and it was absolutely 100% the wrong thing to do, but without him they may be even more shady deal making going on.

Jose Canseco is known for exposing steroids in baseball and even though he himself used them, without him we may still be playing in a steroid riddled era of baseball. Without Luchs, college players may still be feeling that they can get away with getting paid by agents or colleges. It may sting to be John Luchs now, but in the long run people will be thanking him for shining the light on the seedy underbelly of college football.