I need clarification

[cowdoc 17]

I have been folloeing the Cam situation fairly closely.  There is one very important point that keeps coming up that I must have miised something on.  Everyone keeps saying that Cam's father solicited money for Cam to play at MSU.  There have even been reportd that he admitted to it.  Now like I said, I may have missed something but the only thing I have been able to say confidently is that he admitted to DISCUSSING money with Kenny Rogers, not that he ASKED for money.  I have no idea who said what or who brought up the money, but I wish people would get the facts straight and quit twisting peoples words around to fit their own ideas of what went down.  I just want to know if I have missed something or what.  So, do we have reaon to believe that Cam's dad actualy asked for money?

[Chaotic_zx 1,033]

From my understanding, Cecil admitted to having talks about pay-for-play. He has maintained that Rogers initiated the talks. Media is twisting the facts.

[AEAugirl 9,622]

No.  Cam's lawyer has stated his father has admitted to having a discussion about under the table money with someone in regards to MSU.

[Chaotic_zx 1,033]

No.  Cam's lawyer has stated his father has admitted to having a discussion about under the table money with someone in regards to MSU.

My bad. Maybe I'm getting my facts wrong.

[AUbritt 611]

I think we all know that Cecil did something wrong whether he initiated the talks or not.

[cowdoc 17]

From my understanding, Cecil admitted to having talks about pay-for-play. He has maintained that Rogers initiated the talks. Media is twisting the facts.

This is kinda what I was thinking, except I did not know or haven't heard that he ever indicated who initiated teh discussions.

[alexava 6,972]

it seems that the entire media and even some au fans are convinced he asked for money. the ncaa said "he sought" money. there are many ways to interpret these words. i think he was involved with rogers and probably rogers told him that he should let him work on this  and drum up some loot. cecil took a wait and see approach before he decided to bolt for other places(maybe after he was told no on the$). i dont know the extent of his wrong, and it might not be too deep. 

[rockfordpi 91]

it seems that the entire media and even some au fans are convinced he asked for money. the ncaa said "he sought" money. there are many ways to interpret these words. i think he was involved with rogers and probably rogers told him that he should let him work on this  and drum up some loot. cecil took a wait and see approach before he decided to bolt for other places(maybe after he was told no on the$). i dont know the extent of his wrong, and it might not be too deep.   

This is my guess. Rogers goal in all this was to help a certain agent sign Cam for a possible NFL career.

This was a form of a Bait and Switch scam by Rogers.  To get Cecil's attention, Rogers approaches him and BS's him with the ludicrous $100,000 - $200,000 figures and leads him to believe he might be able to help him get that much.

Rogers and everyone else, except Cecil, knows that $200,000 number was ridiculous, even for schools that ARE BUYING players. 

However, Rogers knows that a $20,000 car would not even get Cecil's attention. However, with $200, 000 being talked about, Cecil decides to listen. That is a BIG mistake, but he is human.

Rogers then plays the game, goes through the motion of asking for the big money to impress Cecil. He knows he will never get that, but by this time he has built the relationship he wants with Cecil. Rogers hopes someone at MSU will come up with a small fraction of the original amount. Since no other school is offering anything, he hopes he can get Cam to sign with MSU for a LOT less, if he can even get anything.

At this point, Rogers has the relationship he wants with Cecil, and if Cecil takes any money, Rogers OWNS him.

Keep in mind, at that time, NOBODY, not even CGM, knew just HOW good Cam would be. If they had, there would have been LOTS more schools after him. In retrospect, Cam was worth 10 times that.

The MSU people reported the request but did not give it a lot of time because they never really took it serious. To them, it was the same as if Rogers had asked for a Million dollars, it was that absurd.

Cam signs with AU and nobody thinks a lot about it. AU hears about the SEC report and as a routine matter, they investigate it out in the summer and write it off as nonsense.

By mid season, Cam has become the most dominant player in college football. Some idiot mid level boosters that Rogers contacted are pissed and as a result of their sour grapes, they leak the story to ESPN. Mullen never wanted this out.

Those idiot boosters may have even assumed that AU did pay for Cam, because he turned out to be so good. Again, they forget, or ignore the fact, that at the time he signed, NOBODY knew how good Cam would be.

I believe that if the amount in question had been $20,000, there would have been a LOT more scrutiny and urgency  by MSU, the SEC, and AU. Because the amount in question was so absurd, nobody really gave the whole deal a lot of consideration.

However, the media LOVES that $200k figure, it makes their story so much better. When Cam turns out, after the fact, to be REALLY good, then they use that to imply that the $200k amount was real and since he was so good, someone might have been willing to pay that much.

Had Cam been just an above average QB, this story would have never sold, people would have seen that amount of money as being ridiculous and would have never believed it.

Had the amount been $20K, this would have been so thoroughly investigated before the season, maybe  even before Cam signed, that it would be a non-story at mid season.

It was a PERFECT STORM, a high dollar amount and a player that could be one of the best of all time. However, looking at the time line, the story falls about when you try to match the amount of money being discussed with uncertainly about just how good Cam would really be at the time.

I think this whole ordeal was caused by 3 (or more) bumbling idiots (Cecil, Rogers, MSU Boosters) engaging in a discussion about an unrealistic pie in the sky lunatic plan that was never going anywhere and never even really given consideration by anyone with half a brain or anyone that mattered. It was pure BS by Rogers all the way.

A good analogy would be if me and three of my friends were arrested because we were down in my basement  drinking beer and conspiring and concocting a plan to rob Fort Knox using a crow bar and locksmith tools. The scope of the alleged crime is HUGE and it would make a HUGE headline, and I am sure there is a law someone where that says this is illegal. However, I doubt there would be much, if any, punishment, probably not even a charge.

Anyway, FWIW, that is my theory.

[tigertrax 0]

All this conjecture is entertaining but I agree with the original post.  We assume Cecil and Rogers did something wrong because NCAA and SEC said they did but we can't decide for ourselves because neither is saying what they found.  I assume once they are done we will all know and can finally form our own opinion.  Until then saying things like Cam was "shopped around"  is premature.  You can't draw that conclusion from the press releases in my opinion.  It feels like there is another shoe to fall to me... and I hope it falls on Rogers.

[4AUsince62 10]

I don't know any more than you, not many do. The one thing I do know is that I hope I am never put on trial in the court of public opinion for some of the things I have considered in my lifetime.

[Newbomb 193]

I do not really want to pick at this sore topic more but we are family and I have a question.  The info about Cecil admitting to talking about money came out just before the Georgia game.  Why was he cleared at that time and then "ruled inelegible" before the SEC championship game...  The time line is sort of strange here...

[Lint 0]

So..Where does MSU figure in all of this, as far as penalties go?

WDE! 2010 SEC champs!!

[robbykidd 6]

I think that more of the story will unfold as the season ends. At some point, Cam's father will come out and tell the story as it truly unfolded which will remove some of the speculation.

I'm still not convinced that Cecil actively "shopped" Cam. I still believe he simply pondered an idea hatched up by Kenny Rogers then made a conscious decision to get Cam away from State when he realized his mistake. If he himself was "shopping" then AU, OK, TN, etc would have known about it. Kenny Rogers will be made the villain when all is said and done and the fact that he knew exactly who to call for the cash won't go unnoticed. I wonder if 60 Minutes and other programs of the like have made any offers? We probably won't know until after Jan 10th...WDE