I guess all Cam Newton has to do is keep quiet.

TUSCALOOSA, AL - NOVEMBER 26: Quarterback Cam Newton #2 of the Auburn Tigers points out the defense of the Alabama Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 26, 2010 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

As long as he doesn’t admit he knew anything about his father’s pawning him off like a racehorse, he’s safe. This must be some new NCAA. I must have gone to sleep and in the middle of the night they moved out of Kansas and took up residence in some kinder, gentler place. Some place where silence is innocence.

Because this sure isn’t the same NCAA that is willing to bounce a kid from a roster if he takes a hamburger from the wrong person. The litany of stupid, minor NCAA infractions is beyond description, any one of which used to be able to at least get you a small suspension. But a father trying to sell his son to a football program doesn’t even rate a single snap for Newton?

Let’s face facts. The Auburn quarterback has two games left in his college career – this weekend in the SEC championship and one bowl game, presumably for the national championship. Then he’s outta here. No way he returns to college. He’s off to the NFL and a likely $70-75 million contract that will make what Daddy the Pastor sought for him look like chump change.

The NCAA looks like neutered fools in this, and worse, hypocrites. Cecil Newton has admitted he shopped his son to Mississippi State. In every shape and form that is a violation of the rules. But apparently as long as he didn’t violate them at the school where his son landed – at least not that we know of – and as long as the son keeps quiet and claims he didn’t know what his father was doing (Really? You believe that? There are people who do not have the last name “Newton” who knew what he was doing. But the kid had no idea? Really?) then I guess he’s off the hook.

I hope they give this kid the Heisman. I hope he wins the national title. And I hope he later breaks his silence – or someone else does – and everyone is suitably embarrassed, perhaps embarrassed enough to smash apart the insane institution that is the NCAA rulebook and start over from scratch. See No Evil/Hear No Evil is hardly a credo for college sports.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 3rd, 2010 at 11:00 am and is filed under College Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.