USC Athletics Director Pat Haden said he was surprised to learn the NCAA allowed Auburn quarterback Cam Newton to play in Saturday’s SEC championship.
Haden drew a comparison between Newton’s case and that of former Trojans running back Reggie Bush, saying, “In the Reggie Bush case, when the parent [did] something inappropriate the kid and the school suffered.”
Haden replaced Mike Garrett as USC’s AD in August, inheriting an athletic program that was placed on four years probation by the NCAA for a variety of violations.
Primary among those violations were the result of Reggie Bush’s parents accepting prohibited benefits from agents and would-be sports marketers.
In Newton’s case, the NCAA determined that his father, Cecil Newton, worked together with an owner of a scouting service to sell his son’s services as part of a pay-for-play scheme.
Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president for academic and membership affairs, issued a statement on Wednesday regarding the Newton decision, saying, “In determining how a violation impacts a student-athlete’s eligibility, we must consider the young person’s responsibility.
Based on the information available to the reinstatement staff at this time, we do not have sufficient evidence that Cam Newton or anyone from Auburn was aware of this activity.”
Without saying so specifically, Haden sees a similar scenario taking place with Newton but with a dramatically different end result.
When Southern California appeared before the NCAA Committee on Infractions, the university argued that they were unaware of Bush’s parents accepting illegal gifts.
USC is scheduled to appear before the NCAA’s Infractions Appeals Committee next month. Haden said USC attorneys would more than likely review the Newton case.
If the NCAA doesn’t reduce the penalties levied against the Trojans considering its decision in the Newton case, expect to hear a discussion of what seems to be a double standard.
