By: Taren Vaughan
Winning the Heisman trophy is the dream of college football players all across the country. To them, it is the equivalent of an NFL Super Bowl ring, an accomplishment that will always be held dear to their hearts and their respective universities. This year, the player who got to take the “stiff arm” home with him was none other than Auburn quarterback Cam Newton. As he was favored by a landslide over Andrew Luck, LaMichael James and Kellen Moore, Newton getting the Heisman was centered on a lot of joy, as his family celebrated one of the most memorable moments of his life. But the joyous event was somewhat overshadowed by some controversy that recently arose concerning some “illegal play” off the field.
The situation is very reminiscent of Reggie Bush’s a few months ago. Only difference is that Papa Newton was the one who was doing wrong. Auburn’s star quarterback’s father, Cecil “Huggy Bear” Newton, was a ringleader in some money schemes behind his son’s name throughout his football career. The question now remains is whether or not Cam Newton knew about his father’s actions. No solid evidence has been brought forth that proves that he was aware of what took place. But the way some poll voters were acting, you would have thought they had some inside info that the rest of the world was unaware of.
Simply based off accusations, a number of voters, 105 to be exact, chose to leave Cam Newton off of their ballots. Funny how being accused of something can have fans turning their backs on you at the drop of a hat huh? I could have sworn voting for the Heisman was based on player performance on the field and not on pending accusations that were made against them. Hmm, I must have missed that part of the voting process. Regardless of what conclusions people have drawn concerning the Cam Newton situation, he has made it clear that he is innocent.
On this Sunday’s episode of The NFL Today, Newton was questioned about whether or not he was guilty of participating or having knowledge of any rule breaking activity going on concerning his family. And his response was pretty much what we all expected him to say. Not only did he say that he was not guilty, he also said that his trophy would be making its way back to College Park, Georgia and to Auburn. Newton is standing firm behind his word that he has done nothing wrong and that his Heisman will remain in his possession.
Hope you’re right Cam.
If you recall, Reggie Bush gave his Heisman trophy back after accusations began to surface about him accepting gifts while he was at USC. Guess he figured he should give it up seeing as though so many people thought him to be guilty anyway. Still not agreeing with that move right there. But hey, when you have millions of people pointing the finger at you and writing you off even before you are officially proven guilty, what’s a man to do?
Cam Newton was an outstanding player for Auburn. And like Bush, he will always be remembered for what he did on the gridiron. But if these accusations against him are revealed to be true, get ready to cough up the “stiff arm” Cam.
