Urban Meyer Behind Newton Controversy?

Did Urban Meyer Help Spark the Cam Newton Story?

By

Ian Berg

(Auburn Featured Columnist) on November 5, 2010

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**UPDATE**

- AP writer John Zenor quotes a source to the AP stating that Rogers had no contact with Auburn -

Really? Urban Meyer? Didn't we just have "don't spread rumors" talk last year sometime with Mike Slive? For everything that has gone on in the past 18 or so hours, the most interesting part is that no one has tried to uncover where the story came from in the first place. 
We know that there was Kenny Rogers allegedly trying to sell Cam Newton to the Mississippi State football team. We know that the person that was allegedly approached was John Bond, a former Mississippi State quarterback. But the question that remains is why did Bond go to the media? Even better, who guided him to the right people?
One thing that will get you the furthest in life is knowing the right people. A phone call that started this was between three people. These three are from different parts of the south but have the some shared interests. That being SEC football.
Urban Meyer, Dan Mullen and John Bond allegedly had a conversation. That conversation could have been about hot and spicy Chick-Fil-A sandwiches for all we know, but one thing I believe occurred, it turned to Cam Newton. Why the conversation would turn to him is definitely not surprising.
Newton was coached by Mullen and Meyer at Florida. The M & M crew failed to sway Newton to their teams this past winter and, having coached him, there is no doubt they knew that he had talent. Did anyone know that he could play at this level? I doubt it. Has Newton's recent success caused the M & M crew to wish they had him? I can't imagine them not wanting this football phenom to be on their team.

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With that being said, did Meyer or Mullen do anything wrong in this instance? No one but those guys knows.
From what is being said on JOX in Birmingham this morning and what is being swirled around the Auburn boards is that this was an instance where a conversation went from Mullen saying there is no reason to try and spread this non-story but Meyer pushed the issue.
All reports are pointing to Meyer guiding John Bond to the media to release this story. What were the motives of Meyer to see this released? Why would a coach at a school that Auburn hasn't played, and at this point is not scheduled to play, want to smear a player so badly? No one knows.
Here are the facts that have came out so far. Kenny Rogers, a guy with no clean record himself, had claimed to represent Newton and approached alum John Bond in order to receive payment in exchange for Newton to attend Mississippi State.
Newton did not attend Mississippi State. Newton went to Auburn.
The way that the news broke it seemed that Auburn was implied to have done something wrong. The issue is that the SEC and the NCAA knew about this allegation before this season started.
The Auburn compliance department would have been made aware of any allegations or investigation at the beginning of the process, not when the story broke from ESPN. What that says is that Auburn has been playing Newton with the understanding that he is eligible.
Newton and his family have denied any wrongdoing and have hired an attorney to protect themselves. This is looking more and more like false accusations as the story unfolds. Neither Auburn nor the Newton family has conceded any wrongdoing. A rogue alum at Mississippi State is all that is "fact" to this point.
Needless to say, this is going to get very interesting in the coming days. Will this ruin the opportunity for Newton to win the Heisman?
It shouldn't.
But the negative media spin sure isn't going to help the perception of voters or the public. "I'm sorry" unfortunately won't fix the ramifications of the allegations.
With that being said, let's play football. At this point, this is a 21-year-old kid who has done nothing wrong and has played great football. Keep that in mind.