I'm still in Phoenix after a little traveling snafu yesterday. Hopefully I'll get to get to Atlanta tonight as scheduled. My bag's already there, so it'd be nice to be reacquainted with it.ANYWAY, it turns out Cecil Newton was in attendance for Monday's BCS national championship game. (Compare the above photo to this one.) Check out this well-timed photo by the Opelika-Auburn News. Here's how today's story starts:
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The game barely had ended, the field still full of people wearing orange and blue, but Auburn’s first national championship since 1957 already was shaded by a tinge of controversy.
A photo by the Opelika-Auburn News showed quarterback Cam Newton hugging his father, Cecil, following the Tigers’ 22-19 BCS title game victory Monday night against Oregon.
Cecil’s presence has been a hot-button issue since the NCAA concluded after an investigation that he sought money from a Mississippi State booster last year to secure his son’s services.
The NCAA did not find any wrongdoing on Cam’s or Auburn’s part, ruling that neither party had knowledge of Cecil’s dealings.
Auburn agreed to limit Cecil’s access to the program following the NCAA’s findings. Cecil did not attend the SEC championship game in Atlanta or the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York in December.
Although Cam said earlier in the week that he expected his entire family, including his father, to be in Arizona, Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said before Monday’s game that it was “mutually agreed upon” that Cecil would not attend.
School spokesman Kirk Sampson said Tuesday that Auburn did not provide the ticket and did not know Cecil would be in attendance.
19 comments:
No surprise. He was probably at the SEC CG too. They just didn't want ESPN to show him in the stands every 5 minutes of the broadcast. Easily accomplished with a little misdirection.
Must be a really bad news day if this the "BIG" story for today. Was hoping to see something on the team arriving back in Auburn last night but somehow this is more important.....to who??
I don't know how the NCAA and AU agreed to define the term "limited access", but it seems to me that 1 individual in attendance at a game with 78,000+ other individuals also in attendance has no effect or influence on the AU program.
It's not like Cecil had a sideline pass and was down there yucking it up with Jay Jacobs and Bo all game long.
Thayer Evans has apparently reached a new low, which is saying something!
It's news because Auburn said one thing and Cecil did another. And it's news because Cecil is going to be a lightning rod wherever he goes.
This probably proves the disconnect between him and program, though. If school officials said one thing and he goes and does another.
Cecil is Cam's Dad, Cam is Cecil's son who is at a once-in-a-lifetime event and Cam is one of the stars. You bet, as a fellow parent, I'd be sneaking in too!!! Let's get real!! We need to pull ourselves out of this "media world" and get down to real-life relationships. After all, that is what's really important in life.
I am sorry but this looks photo shopped to me. I find it very hard to believe that with all the people there with camera phones had Cecil Newton been there, that there would not have been hundreds of photos surfacing by now. This is ridiculous!!!!!
I guarantee you that photo is not shopped. Photo journalists don't do that.
then all the people holding their camera phones in this picture will have this image from a different angle, right? No offense to you, but I have lost all respect for journalistic integrity and I no longer believe everything I see or hear.
Andy...photo journalists don't modify pictures...that was a joke,right? Where have you been the last few years? Even major news magazines photo-shop their covers. You need to get out of town more often.
Andy, Cecil Newton watched the whole game at the Renaissance Hotel across from the stadium. He was sitting 10 feet from me. He stayed until the very end. After the game I got a high five from him and the younger guy (maybe Cam's brother?) who was with him.
Could he have gotten in the stadium after the game? I suppose it's possible.. He stayed at the hotel until it was over then gave a few high fives and they got out of there. It was about a 5-10 minute walk to the stadium from the hotel.
But I am a first hand witness that he watched the ENTIRE game in the Renaissance courtyard. He sat in the back on the left hand side.
I don't care if he was a special guest referee, he has the right to attend the game. Regardless what some people think of him and what he did he loves his son and should be allowed to watch his achievements.
Katie, do you have any proof...pictures?
The better question is, does Katie know PhotoShop?
(It's a joke, not intended to be a comment on Katie's character).
Auburn didn't give him a ticket. AU doesn't own that stadium, so they have no authority to keep him out. Reporting this as a "tinge of controversy" is absurd. I'd darn sure be there if my son (or daughter) was playing in the BCSCG.
I was at the Renaissance too, left side near the back. If Cecil was there he did a good job of staying low key.
What I did see was an Auburn fan push an obnoxious Oregon fan into the waterfall feature they have out there saying that ducks belong in the water. Now THAT was AUsome!
The university said that they didn't provide him with a ticket. And he wasn't with his wife and the rest of Cam's family, so evidently they didn't. If he bought his own ticket, that's his right.
Sorry, I don't see the story here. And I'm glad Cecil was there.
Only an idiot would think it would be news that Cam's dad came to the stadium after the game and hugged his son. My gosh! What was he supposed to do? He already stayed away from the biggest moment in his son's life to appease whoever. The media is out of control nowadays.
Wow, I just really paid attention to the article. So Andy a picture of Cam's dad after the game says he attended the game? Or did you confirm this before printing? Just curious to know if someone saw him there because otherwise Karen's story is pretty feasible, too you know. At least she's an eye witness, lol. Trust me if he was anywhere in those stands ESPN would have found him it seems. I'm surprised they didn't get that shot. War Eagle
I also saw him at the Renaissance hotel the entire 2nd half. He then left the hotel at the same time as me and started walking to the stadium. I split off and went over to my car.
We now have two eye-witnesses that saw Cecil Newton watch the game from the hotel. That wasn't very hard to do, but the national media won't even look for a different explanation. They'll try to hold Auburn responsible for every single one of the 78,000 tickets that were sold to a public event.
I'm sorry, but I've lost all respect and belief in media figures unless they first pass the test of time and prove trustworthy. Andy Bitter, Tony Barnhart and Jay Tate I'll believe.
Anybody else that publishes the words "Cam Newton" is a liar and publicity seeker unless and until I see proof that he/she is not, and a negative is tough to prove.
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