Slive speaks finally

[Yoda]

And slams Mississippi State for not acting properly.  Warns the public not to pass judgement on Newton till the facts come out.  Auburn is to decide if Newton plays.  Fuck the Dawgs both of them.

[Townhallsavoy]

You're joking.

Seriously?

[Townhallsavoy]

Also, flyover over JHS as comments were being spoken. 

Coincidence?  Fuck coincidence.  We run this shit. 

[Yoda]

Yes F bomb just read statement.  Can't find anything online.  Basically slammed MSU about how they reported this incident.  Stated that heisman and poll voters should not reserve judgement until all of this plays out. 

[Townhallsavoy]

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/11/slive_discusses_cam_newton_cas.html

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said the conference has not recommended to Auburn whether to play or sit Cam Newton tomorrow amid allegations about his recruitment to Mississippi State.

"The only thing we made clear is a decision about his eligibility is a decision that has to be made by the institution," said Slive, adding he is uncertain how the NCAA might interpret a case he says could be unprecedented in how it's playing out.

During an interview today about the Newton case, Slive also called on the public to reserve judgment before "established facts" are determined and suggested disappointment in Mississippi State for not following procedures in reporting accusations to the league office.

Square in the crossfire are the league's highest-profile player -- who is also the leading Heisman Trophy candidate -- and the team with the best chance for the SEC to play for a fifth straight BCS championship. Slive said it would be "unfair" for Heisman and poll decisions penalizing Auburn or Newton to be made before "established facts" are found.
"I hope that people will reserve judgment in fairness to the SEC, in fairness to the institutions and most importantly in fairness to the young man," Slive said. "I hope people will exercise thought and patience before making those decisions. I'm concerned about fairness. This has to do with fairness."

The Newton saga took a new turn Thursday. Former Mississippi State player Kenny Rogers claimed on ESPN Radio in Dallas that he witnessed Newton's father, Cecil, tell two Mississippi State coaches last November that the school would have to pay to sign his son.

Even given his long experience in college athletics, Slive said this case appears to be unprecedented in how it is playing out. Allegations have been made about a player's recruitment to a school where he didn't sign, but no direct accusations have surfaced publicly against the school where the player did sign.

The NCAA has said "the solicitation of cash or benefits by a prospective student-athlete or another individual on his or her behalf is not allowed under NCAA rules." Potential withholding conditions are based "on the type and scope of the violation, as well as the student-athlete's responsibility," according to the NCAA. "Any mitigating circumstances are also considered."

Asked what risks Auburn has faced by playing Newton so far or playing him again tomorrow, Slive responded: "First of all, we don't have an established set of facts. The only people who can answer that is the NCAA. They have rules and then they have interpretations. Personally, I don't know how the rule applies and what the interpretations might be."

Slive said until there are established facts "you could have four or five hypotheses. We're not in that role. I think our role is to wait out the investigation."

Slive declined to comment on the specifics of the allegations being made.

"There's been a lot of things said," he said. "There's been some inconsistencies. There's been some credibility issues. But we're not in the place where we judge those."

Mississippi State has said it informed the SEC of concerns about Newton's recruitment in January and supplied more information in July. Slive said the SEC office did not report the accusations that started the NCAA investigation. Asked who did, Slive replied, "I can only speak for myself and the conference office."

Slive said the original phone calls from Mississippi State in January generated enough information for the conference to seek more about what was said and to whom.

"We got some limited information," he said. "We said we need more information, go back and interview people."

Slive said the SEC did follow up with Mississippi State between January and July.

"Without getting into any minute detail, for people to assume there was no follow-up for information (by the SEC office) would be wrong," Slive said. "There was timely follow-up from our office between January and July. As Mississippi State indicated, these requests were not fulfilled. We followed up in a timely way. Given the need for people to have a month or more to do that, we asked again. In six years, we've never had a problem with that."
An ESPN.com story earlier this week said Mississippi State made the SEC aware of the alleged conversations Cam and Cecil Newton had with Mississippi State "recruiters" regarding a pay-for-play plan. But the SEC has said Mississippi State did not report that information in January or July.

Asked why Mississippi State did not share that information with the SEC, Slive replied, "I never put myself in somebody else's head. That's really a question to ask somebody else other than me."

A Mississippi State spokesman told The Birmingham News on Thursday the school would not comment on the confusion.

Slive said he believes the conference office has acted appropriately in this case. He said it is his expectation that when people within the league learn of compliance issues they report them so the SEC compliance process begins.

Slive would not say whether any SEC school has violated conference policies by leaking information publicly. Mississippi State and Florida have been attached to some media reports.

"A lot of things are attributed to sources and my thought has always been when we know what the established facts are, we'll be in a position to know what happened, who did what and we will be in a position to deal with it," Slive said. "We do have an established process that requires these matters to go through us. When the smoke clears, we will know more."

Slive said he could not speak to why the FBI is involved in the case. Former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond, who helped the Newton story go public a week ago, told The Jackson Clarion-Ledger he is meeting with the FBI next week because the agency "doesn't want people shopping children around for thousands of dollars."

"I read in the media that the FBI may be involved," Slive said. "That's where I got my information on that."

Upon becoming commissioner in 2002, Slive inherited a conference with nine schools either on NCAA probation or being investigated. He set a goal in 2003 of having no schools on probation by 2008, but there was still one.

Under Slive, the SEC changed how it handles accusations. Since 2004, it no longer investigates cases. There are procedures for a member's president or athletics director to sign off on allegations in order for the case to move forward.

"This is the first time the process was not followed in a way in which was satisfactory. That in part creates issues for us all," Slive said. "I understand progress is two steps forward and one step back on occasion. My goal, obviously, is perfection so to the extent that we have these issues now is disappointing."

Slive described the past week as "hard and busy" for himself.

"It's been disappointing and difficult both on a personal and professional basis," he said.

[Townhallsavoy]

Cecil Hurt sounds depressed.  He's trying desperately to make it look like Slive is playing favorites.  He says he wishes Slive would be more concerned with the rules being broken than cleaning up the image of the SEC. 

This feels good for some reason.

[Townhallsavoy]

Cecil is implying that Slive is pissed that Miss State went around the SEC office and went straight to a different source.  That this would have been covered up if Miss State had waited on the SEC to act.

Finebaum just ended the segment with, "If you're an Auburn fan, do you feel better now that Slive put Miss State's you know what in a vice?" 

I think I will breathe a bit easier...but for now.  No clue if the NCAA is waging a war against the SEC office.

[eagleair89]

jmho on a couple of quotes

"The only thing we made clear is a decision about his eligibility is a decision that has to be made by the institution," said Slive, adding he is uncertain how the NCAA might interpret a case he says could be unprecedented in how it's playing out.

This is absolute "Coach Speak" meant for public consumption.  Do not doubt for an instance that the Office has not been reviewing this with AU fairly closely.  This is not the only thing made clear by the SEC to  AU.

Asked what risks Auburn has faced by playing Newton so far or playing him again tomorrow, Slive responded: "First of all, we don't have an established set of facts. The only people who can answer that is the NCAA. They have rules and then they have interpretations. Personally, I don't know how the rule applies and what the interpretations might be."

This is a gentleman's lie.  You want me to believe that a UVa law grad, with years of legal experience honed in Chicago and the commissioner of the most powerful athletic conference (who made over $3 million last year personally).  Do you really expect me to believe that last sentence.  LOLOLOLOLOL!

WAR EAGLE

[Townhallsavoy]

jmho on a couple of quotes

"The only thing we made clear is a decision about his eligibility is a decision that has to be made by the institution," said Slive, adding he is uncertain how the NCAA might interpret a case he says could be unprecedented in how it's playing out.

This is absolute "Coach Speak" meant for public consumption.  Do not doubt for an instance that the Office has not been reviewing this with AU fairly closely.  This is not the only thing made clear by the SEC to  AU.

Asked what risks Auburn has faced by playing Newton so far or playing him again tomorrow, Slive responded: "First of all, we don't have an established set of facts. The only people who can answer that is the NCAA. They have rules and then they have interpretations. Personally, I don't know how the rule applies and what the interpretations might be."

This is a gentleman's lie.  You want me to believe that a UVa law grad, with years of legal experience honed in Chicago and the commissioner of the most powerful athletic conference (who made over $3 million last year personally).  Do you really expect me to believe that last sentence.  LOLOLOLOLOL!

WAR EAGLE

Not to mention, as Finebaum pointed out, Slive created the first law firm that defended NCAA institutions against the NCAA infractions committee.

[Token]

Mississipi State is cooked.  The only reason (in my opinion) they didn't produce the "tapes" of Cecil and ________ speaking over the phone about a pay for play would be if they were entertaining the thoughts of paying and didn't want the SEC to know about the secret meetings. 

Looks to me like MSU was trying to cover this up by not producing the "tapes", but it appears the SEC had no knowledge of possible recorded conversations between parties.  It also looks like Auburn had no prior knowledge of any possible recorded conversations. 

IF, and that's a big if, those recordings are legit, I'd say the victim in this situation would be Auburn.  Not Cam.  Not Cecil.  But of course, like the other 95% of this situation, we don't know if the tapes even exist. 

[RWS]

Cecil is implying that Slive is pissed that Miss State went around the SEC office and went straight to a different source.  That this would have been covered up if Miss State had waited on the SEC to act.

Finebaum just ended the segment with, "If you're an Auburn fan, do you feel better now that Slive put Miss State's you know what in a vice?" 

I think I will breathe a bit easier...but for now.  No clue if the NCAA is waging a war against the SEC office.

Here's the deal......the second MSU told the SEC office something was up (January), the next call the SEC should have made should be to the NCAA.

Mississippi State has said it informed the SEC of concerns about Newton's recruitment in January and supplied more information in July. Slive said the SEC office did not report the accusations that started the NCAA investigation. Asked who did, Slive replied, "I can only speak for myself and the conference office."

Slive said the original phone calls from Mississippi State in January generated enough information for the conference to seek more about what was said and to whom.[/u]

"We got some limited information," he said. "We said we need more information, go back and interview people."

Slive said the SEC did follow up with Mississippi State between January and July.

That bolded and underlined part should have been enough for the SEC to get the NCAA involved. IMO, as a conference, you don't just go self-investigating a player supposedly being paid $100-$200k and "wait on more information". I'm not saying the NCAA should have gone all ape-shit on everybody, I just think they probably should have been in on this from the word go, no matter how incomplete the initial reports were.

Slive can be pissed about MSU going to the NCAA, but in the end, the NCAA will look more favorably upon MSU for doing it, since apparently the SEC was going to drag it's heels as long as possible. MSU probably went to the NCAA when they realized 7 months had gone by and the SEC hadn't even notified the NCAA that there might be a problem. I'm sure Slive is going to have some 'splainin to do to the NCAA on all of this as well. 

[eagleair89]

I'm not saying the NCAA should have gone all ape-poop on everybody, I just think they probably should have been in on this from the word go, no matter how incomplete the initial reports were.

Slive can be pissed about MSU going to the NCAA, but in the end, the NCAA will look more favorably upon MSU for doing it,

I usually do not reply to bammer posts but it is Friday and will reply to this one:

The NCAA HAS been on this since at least July and quite possibly since the spring or earlier. 

No one, not one single person has said it was MSU who went to the NCAA.  Maybe it was MSU but maybe just maybe you and the rest of us may be surprised who did.

WAR EAGLE.

ps: have you found the stadium yet?   

[RWS]

I usually do not reply to bammer posts but it is Friday and will reply to this one:

The NCAA HAS been on this since at least July and quite possibly since the spring or earlier. 

No one, not one single person has said it was MSU who went to the NCAA.  Maybe it was MSU but maybe just maybe you and the rest of us may be surprised who did.

WAR EAGLE.

ps: have you found the stadium yet?   

From all accounts I have seen, MSU reported this in some way, shape, or form to the SEC in January. The SEC told them to gather more information and get back with the office. That in itself is mind boggling. A program is trying to self report itself for a very serious violation, and the SEC tells them to just look into it some more? Now it's July, and MSU hadn't sent whatever information the SEC requested (supposedly the SEC asked MSU to provide something showing other schools were involved, but MSU only knew of their own dealings), but all of a sudden the NCAA is calling wanting to know more about some info they received.

Again, no matter how incomplete or inconclusive the information MSU provided to the SEC was, the SEC should have been on the line with the NCAA the second MSU reported this. There should not have been a 1, 3, 5, or 7 month wait to notify the NCAA of a potential problem. I know Slive is on a mission to have a probation free SEC, but this makes the conference look much worse. The SEC put this thing in the back of a file cabinet hoping it would go away, and it turns out MSU has bigger balls apparently. They already put out a press release a few days back stating they notified the NCAA themselves.

[djsimp]

From all accounts I have seen, MSU reported this in some way, shape, or form to the SEC in January. The SEC told them to gather more information and get back with the office. That in itself is mind boggling. A program is trying to self report itself for a very serious violation, and the SEC tells them to just look into it some more? Now it's July, and MSU hadn't sent whatever information the SEC requested (supposedly the SEC asked MSU to provide something showing other schools were involved, but MSU only knew of their own dealings), but all of a sudden the NCAA is calling wanting to know more about some info they received.

Again, no matter how incomplete or inconclusive the information MSU provided to the SEC was, the SEC should have been on the line with the NCAA the second MSU reported this. There should not have been a 1, 3, 5, or 7 month wait to notify the NCAA of a potential problem. I know Slive is on a mission to have a probation free SEC, but this makes the conference look much worse. The SEC put this thing in the back of a file cabinet hoping it would go away, and it turns out MSU has bigger balls apparently. They already put out a press release a few days back stating they notified the NCAA themselves.

Simple question, what if Auburn was the one whom turned MSU?

[eagleair89]

From all accounts I have seen, MSU reported this in some way, shape, or form to the SEC in January. The SEC told them to gather more information and get back with the office. That in itself is mind boggling. A program is trying to self report itself for a very serious violation, and the SEC tells them to just look into it some more? Now it's July, and MSU hadn't sent whatever information the SEC requested (supposedly the SEC asked MSU to provide something showing other schools were involved, but MSU only knew of their own dealings), but all of a sudden the NCAA is calling wanting to know more about some info they received.

Again, no matter how incomplete or inconclusive the information MSU provided to the SEC was, the SEC should have been on the line with the NCAA the second MSU reported this. There should not have been a 1, 3, 5, or 7 month wait to notify the NCAA of a potential problem. I know Slive is on a mission to have a probation free SEC, but this makes the conference look much worse. The SEC put this thing in the back of a file cabinet hoping it would go away, and it turns out MSU has bigger balls apparently. They already put out a press release a few days back stating they notified the NCAA themselves.

 Fact No. 1: The NCAA has had these claims in hand since last January. Newton continues to be eligible to play at Auburn. No matter how many times you read something different, if his eligibility was in question, he would not be playing. Auburn wouldn’t play him, and if Auburn wanted to play him, the SEC wouldn’t allow it.

Fact No. 2: Even after the allegations were forwarded to the SEC, Mississippi State continued to recruit Newton, and recruit him hard, up until he signed with Auburn on Dec. 31.

Fact No. 3: Newton’s recruitment came down to three schools – Auburn, Oklahoma and Mississippi State. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he saw no problems of any kind. Auburn officials looked into his recruitment and were convinced there was no wrongdoing.

Fact No. 4: Though, according to the report, the accusations are almost a year old, neither Auburn nor Cam Newton has been accused of any wrongdoing by the NCAA.

MSU release #1:

Mississippi State University acknowledges that it contacted the Southeastern Conference office in January of 2010 regarding an issue relating to its recruitment of Cam Newton.

Shortly after the initial call, the SEC office requested specific information to include interviews with involved staff from MSU.

Due to MSU dealing with ongoing and time-consuming eligibility issues involving non-football matters in the winter and spring of 2010, the specific SEC request went unfulfilled. Some additional information was provided to the SEC during July of 2010. Once the NCAA enforcement staff became involved, Mississippi State University cooperated fully with its investigation. MSU is confident the SEC office has managed this process consistent with its established procedures and the university is committed to the conference's ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with SEC and NCAA rules.

MSU Release #2:

"During the recruitment of a football prospective student-athlete, Mississippi State was approached with an offer to provide an extra benefit. This offer was refused.

"MSU alerted the Southeastern Conference about the offer. MSU did not have any specific incriminating information about any other school, and thus could not provide any.

"As Commissioner Slive mentioned today, the SEC is not an investigative body. MSU has cooperated fully and completely with the NCAA from the time it began asking for our assistance, and looks forward to providing any and all help in this ongoing investigation."

[RWS]

 Fact No. 1: The NCAA has had these claims in hand since last January. Newton continues to be eligible to play at Auburn. No matter how many times you read something different, if his eligibility was in question, he would not be playing. Auburn wouldn’t play him, and if Auburn wanted to play him, the SEC wouldn’t allow it.

You could play an ineligible player every Saturday if you wanted to. The SEC can't make you not play them. You would simply take a loss for every game that player was in.

Fact No. 2: Even after the allegations were forwarded to the SEC, Mississippi State continued to recruit Newton, and recruit him hard, up until he signed with Auburn on Dec. 31.

This statement makes no sense. He signed with AU on Dec 31st. MSU forwarded their info to the SEC in January. You just said MSU recruited him until he signed with AU, and after the allegations were forwarded. The only way your statement would make sense is if MSU notified the SEC before Dec 31st.

Fact No. 3: Newton’s recruitment came down to three schools – Auburn, Oklahoma and Mississippi State. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he saw no problems of any kind. Auburn officials looked into his recruitment and were convinced there was no wrongdoing.

.....on their respective ends. How would AU, or OU know what transpired with MSU? I doubt MSU was letting them know at that point. And if Cecil did solicit money from MSU, I doubt he was blabbing it to AU or OU.....unless.....

Fact No. 4: Though, according to the report, the accusations are almost a year old, neither Auburn nor Cam Newton has been accused of any wrongdoing by the NCAA.

Like I said before, the only reason AU is even being mentioned is because Cecil supposedly solicited cash from another school, and AU is the school Cam ended up at. The automatic assumption follows that to AU.

MSU release #1:

Mississippi State University acknowledges that it contacted the Southeastern Conference office in January of 2010 regarding an issue relating to its recruitment of Cam Newton.

Shortly after the initial call, the SEC office requested specific information to include interviews with involved staff from MSU.

Due to MSU dealing with ongoing and time-consuming eligibility issues involving non-football matters in the winter and spring of 2010, the specific SEC request went unfulfilled. Some additional information was provided to the SEC during July of 2010. Once the NCAA enforcement staff became involved, Mississippi State University cooperated fully with its investigation. MSU is confident the SEC office has managed this process consistent with its established procedures and the university is committed to the conference's ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with SEC and NCAA rules.

MSU Release #2:

"During the recruitment of a football prospective student-athlete, Mississippi State was approached with an offer to provide an extra benefit. This offer was refused.

"MSU alerted the Southeastern Conference about the offer. MSU did not have any specific incriminating information about any other school, and thus could not provide any.

"As Commissioner Slive mentioned today, the SEC is not an investigative body. MSU has cooperated fully and completely with the NCAA from the time it began asking for our assistance, and looks forward to providing any and all help in this ongoing investigation."

If MSU was told that the SEC wasn't going to investigate it because they aren't an "investigative body", it's reasonable to assume they reported it to an organization that IS an investigative body; especially since they seem so eager to hang themselves.

As far as the notion of AU alerting the NCAA goes, I think that is highly unlikely. AU had no way of knowing what kind of evidence MSU possessed, so I really doubt they would want to call attention to the situation.

[Townhallsavoy]

In the logical and chronological progression of these types of investigations, one would have to assume that once the issues at MSU get cleared up, the next LOI will be mailed to Auburn. 

This is going to be dragged out over a long period of time unless something drastic is released that ends the story quickly.

[djsimp]

Just ask the "assistant coaches". Other than that, well just fuck it. I have read all that I can. In conclusion, it is the anount of 1!!! that will be in a world of shit and the escape goat for not only two schools but also the whole SEC,

[Plainsman94]

Cecil Hurt sounds depressed.  He's trying desperately to make it look like Slive is playing favorites.  He says he wishes Slive would be more concerned with the rules being broken than cleaning up the image of the SEC. 

This feels good for some reason.

Did Cecil have this same attitude about getting to the bottom of Ingram & Jones's fishing trip?

[The Prowler]

Rws, this all went down before, during, or right after the Egg Bowl....MSU, knowing what went down, since they where told about it, continued to recruit Cam up until he signed with Auburn on Dec. 31st....understand that?  It can't be that hard.