FINALLY!!! Article About Heisman Race

[Tiger Wench]

God bless Matt Hayes.

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/feed/2010-09/heisman-watch/story/heisman-turns-to-whos-most-socially-acceptable

Heisman turns to who's most socially acceptable

Matt Hayes
Sporting News

It’s about this time every year when the Heisman Trophy Trust mails out the annual ballot for the greatest individual award in all of sports.

Only this year, it’s no longer about the best player. Now it’s about the socially acceptable.

Just how much dirt is too much?

“I’m not wasting my time,” said Auburn coach Gene Chizik, “addressing allegations that blow my mind that they’re even out there.”

Not only are they there, they’re dictating the race for the Heisman Trophy.

Never in the history of the Heisman vote has what happened off the field been more scrutinized than what happened on it. And we can all thank Reggie Bush for that.

Look at the Heisman frontrunners and try to find a socially-worthy candidate. You have a better chance of Bush admitting he was wrong.

• Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, the clear leader, has taken gut punches over the last week in news stories that he was being shopped by a person representing him in the recruiting process for a mere $200K, and that he was guilty of academic fraud while at Florida.

• LaMichael James, Oregon’s swift tailback, was arrested for domestic violence in the offseason for grabbing his girlfriend by the neck and throwing her to the ground. He spent a couple of days in jail and eventually pled guilty to a lesser charge of harassment.
 
• Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State’s thrill-a-catch wideout, was arrested for driving under the influence less than a month ago and is back on the field.

At this point, I’m not exactly sure what’s more appalling: the lack of clean candidates or that only now we’re jumping on soap boxes. Don’t you just love our reactionary society?

Let’s not forget, people, that Troy Smith was ruled ineligible by the NCAA because he accepted cash from a would-be—I don’t even know what to call these dirtbags anymore—representative as a sophomore. He was later reinstated, and won the Heisman two years later during his senior season at Ohio State.

Charles Woodson admitted after the fact, before a federal grand jury in the grand larceny investigation of Marion Darnell Jones, that he knowingly accepted cash, trips and clothing from an agent before his 1997 Heisman Trophy season at Michigan.

And now we’re suddenly all righteous about Newton, James and Blackmon? Now we’re wondering whose dirty deed is less filthy?

Frankly, it’s not even close. Of the three knuckleheads, one was arrested for assaulting a woman (James) and one was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and speeding (Blackmon), and both endangering the lives of others. And Newton? Academic fraud is awful, but that only affects his self-worth.

With each story that unfolds with Newton, you just know James is sitting in Oregon hoping it doesn’t come back to him. According to police, James “placed his hands” on his girlfriend’s throat and “applied pressure,” resulting in a strangulation charge.

Then there’s Blackmon, who was driving 92 mph in a 60 mph zone at 3:45 a.m., in Carrollton, Texas, while returning from a Dallas Cowboys game, and was arrested on a DUI complaint.

After sitting out a week on suspension, Blackmon had 242 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in a rout of Baylor. Let’s go over this timeline again, shall we?

Dez Bryant lied last year to NCAA investigators about something that ended up being nothing, and lost an entire season at Oklahoma State. Blackmon got a DUI, and played two weeks later.

Where was the righteous indignation when Blackmon ran back on the field two weeks later? Or when James was reinstated to the Oregon team after a one game suspension?

Instead, we save it all for Cam Newton, whose Heisman stock took a mega hit again with the academic fraud accusations. Newton denies any wrongdoing, and Tuesday proclaimed he wasn’t talking about something that happened “not three months, not six months, not a year, but two years ago.”
After last weekend’s victory over Chattanooga, Newton was asked if the distractions were affecting his play and if he was concerned it could impact how he is perceived.

“When God be blessin,’ ” Newton said, “the devil be messin’.”

The devil, everyone, is in the details.