This. If I was accused of something that is completely false I'd be screaming it from the roof tops. Whenever I see stories where the accused are not speaking or saying non committal things I usually assume they are guilty. al la Tiger Woods case. Right or wrong the assumption is if your innocent you'll say so.
That is the one comment in all of this that has me thinking that someone has done something wrong. Who, not sure.
You make a good point about the PAC 10, but they have a different kind of reputation out there. They are all research universities, and the "brainiac" schools like Cal & Stanford reduce the perception of the PAC 10 as being a football factory. Not so the SEC, (not impugning the quality of SEC schools, just stating a perception). It also doesn't help that it's centered in an Alabama school again. If you Google "Bama probation", you get 606,000 hits. Google "Auburn probation" you get 341,000. So I think the horse is already out of the barn on the SEC's football reputation, and this incident will merely cement it, amongst those who hold a bad opinion of the conference.
Even more to the point, when you make that assumption, how often have you been proved to be wrong? Just about never, I would guess. Your point is on the money.
Come on. Why would you believe that the SEC got off its collective behind, and warned schools about this? I would think that if the SEC indeed, was warned that MSU had passed on Newton and that Auburn was buying him, they would have checked with Auburn. And getting assurances from Auburn that they were in compliance, hoping the whole dang thing would go away. Another thought. Do you really think that the SEC would like to inform Spurrier of what was going on, with the loose cannon he has for a mouth? Just askin'?
Here's where it gets hairy. So far, if Newton is guilty, what he has done is the breaking of NCAA by-laws. Which of course carries no legal penalties. But if these guys get involved, then I hope Cameron has paid a little attention to Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Marion Jones or at least has somebody giving him advice that understands what lying to federal agents results in.
The SEC IS a football factory, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. The SEC is s premier athletic conference because we put a product on the field that a lot of people want to watch, which is why we have national television deals with CBS and ESPN. That is made possible because boosters and fans pay top dollar to provide top facilities and resources to attract athletes. Unfortunately, that also inevitably brings shady elements. The urban legend about Willie Sutton was that he robbed banks because that's where the money is. The SEC is where the top football players and programs are, which is why you see agent scandals and pay-for-play allegations concentrated here. That all comes with the territory. That doesn't make any one particular SEC school any more dirty than any typical Big 12, Big 10, Pac 10, or ACC school. I'll hold up LSU's program against anybody else in the country. I think the more fair-minded fans will recognize that the level of competition brings with it a higher number of these incidents, not that the conference is somehow inherently corrupt. The other fans are either naive, bigoted, or jealous of the SEC's success. Remember the childish statements made by some Big 10 official after the '07 NC about how they couldn't compete with the SEC because their vaunted athlete admissions standards were supposedly so high? Only to find that on average that wasn't the case at all. I think the SEC will weather this just fine.
I would normally find it hard to believe myself, but you have to understand how deep the hatred between Bama and Auburn really is. The Saban era had to be killing them. I find it hard to believe that Auburn would blatantly cheat anyway, but look the other way while some bigshot alumnus steps up to the plate? I don't have a problem imagining that one.
Cam and his daddy can stonewall NCAA investigators until the cows come home since they have no subpoena power. If they try that on the feds it'll be a whole 'nother can of worms.
Good point, but the UNC situation was different. Butch Davis couldn't very well argue innocence when it was his own players with their Twitter accounts who spilled the beans on the So. Beach party.
