re: Auburn is officially retiring Cam Newton’s number

quote:

---

One of the most dominant CFB players I've ever seen. Literally carried a mediocre team to the natty on his back.

---

quote:

---

NCAA blatantly looked the other way

---

quote:

---

Cam Newton's jersey number, No. 2, is being retired almost 15 years after he led Auburn to the 2010 national championship, won the Heisman Trophy and was the first pick in the NFL draft. That is as it should be. You can make the case that it is overdue. Newton's Auburn story is more than that of a great athlete who had one of the great seasons in college football history. No, he was not a "one-man team" as so many like to say. Would the Tigers have won the national championship without him? No. Would they have won it with Nick Fairley or Michael Dyer or Darvin Adams or 27 seniors. Maybe not. But Newton's impact on his team, on Auburn football and Auburn University was historic. Was Newton the greatest player in Auburn history? Some maintain – and it's fair – that fellow Heisman Trophy winners Pat Sullivan and Bo Jackson had better careers because they were great for multiple years. Newton was one-and-done. But here is what can't be legitimately denied: For his one season, Newton was the greatest player to ever wear an Auburn uniform. Newton set Auburn records throwing and running. He made the biggest plays at the biggest times. He led the greatest comeback in Iron Bowl history on the road. And he did it all under a different kind of pressure than any college quarterback has faced. It started with ESPN.com wrote a story, without provable evidence, that Newton had received money to sign with Auburn instead of Mississippi State. It was a story that went as far to quote "one who recruits for Mississippi State." That turned out to be former head coach Dan Mullen's wife. On and on it went. National pundits declared Newton guilty. They searched for dirt. They dissected every statement. There was even a story about how many parking tickets Newton had received while enrolled at Florida. Oddsmaker Danny Sheridan claimed the NCAA had found "the bagman," another statement without evidence that came to nothing. Sportscaster Tim Brando turned the Heisman Trophy announcement into an opportunity to grill Newton. For months, Brando insisted Auburn would have to vacate the national championship. The SEC athletics directors awarded the SEC Athlete of the Year to a Tennessee tennis player in an astounding miscarriage of justice. Meanwhile, the NCAA turned over every rock. Auburn had to declare Newton ineligible, though it was for a minor infraction and lasted only 24 hours. After Auburn beat Oregon to win the national championship, supposedly knowledgeable reporters like Pete Thamel, Brando and others were convinced Auburn would not be able to keep it. The NCAA's months-long hunt for evidence came to nothing. It did two unheard of things: It flatly rejected Sheridan's claim in writing. And finally, it wrote a letter to Auburn and Newton exonerating the university and Newton of any wrongdoing. I know of no time either of those things had happened previously. Through all that, Newton never flinched. He kept on making plays, kept on winning games and, kept on smiling and final won championships. Newton went on, of course, to win an NFL MVP award and take his team to the Super Bowl. He gave footballs to kids after scoring touchdowns. He fed the hungry on Thanksgiving. Yet, always there were those who questioned him. Still today, he is criticized for the way he dresses, the way he talks. Sadly, there are those who continue to insist he broke the rules and should have been ineligible. Back at Auburn, Newton will always be an icon, a bigger-than-life football hero. In the summer of 2011, I had an exclusive interview with then-compliance director Rich McGlynn about the Newton saga that consumed him for months. McGlynn never faltered in his belief that Newton did nothing wrong. "I was so impressed with Cam, just the way he handled the situation," McGlynn said at the time. "I was mesmerized by the manner in which he handled himself. "The kid doesn't drink. He doesn't go out. He doesn't party. He doesn't have Facebook or Twitter. I don't think there are many people – professional athletes included – that could have gone through what he's gone through and played at such a level." Now, when Georgia visits Jordan-Hare Stadium on Oct. 11, Newton will receive an honor that has been bestowed on just three other Auburn football players – Jackson, Sullivan and Terry Beasley. And he earned it.

---