You say bidding war...but the only thing that EVER came out in regard to that situation was that his dad actually talked to someone "affiliated" with MSU about money. Who else offered? Wouldn't there have to be a second offer to be considered a "bidding war"?
Beat me to it. The "shopped around" meme is flat out wrong and fabricated. There never was, never has been, and never will be any formal allegation of "shopping around" outside of the blogosphere. How that phrase became part and parcel to the Newton saga is beyond me, and one I take great issue with.
Not to beat a dead horse, but. Let me get this off my chest.
Let's start from the beginning.
In case you forgot, when the bomb dropped that Cecil Newton sought payment for Cam to play, that was a MSU whistle blower claiming that
MSU boosters had conversations with Cecil about paying for Cam to play
there.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5818428Auburn never implicated. "Shopping around" was never mentioned. It was an MSU problem.
Every other school that recruited Newton, including Stoops at OU, said that there were no irregularities in his recruitment.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2010/11/bob-stoops-on-recruiting-cam-newton-didnt-notice-anything/1#.UgEDldifiM0This is the "smoking gun" and where the axiom that Cecil "shopped around" originated. The big "confession of guilt".
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/sports/exclusive-cam-newtons-dad-admits-money-talks-says-/nD9hG/Exclusive: Cam Newton's Dad Admits Money Talks, Says Source
A source close to the situation exclusively told Channel 2 Action News investigative reporter Mark Winne that the player's father, Cecil Newton, has admitted having conversations with an ex-Mississippi State University player about **the possibility** of under-the-table money if Cam Newton signed to play football **at Mississippi State**, though he's steadfastly maintained that **no money ever changed hands** and said no **official** at Mississippi State ever made such an offer.
According to Winne’s source, Cecil Newton said his son’s hands are clean, and has made it clear that Cam Newton himself and his mother knew nothing about the money discussions, nor did Auburn University, with whom the Westlake High School grad from College Park eventually signed with out of junior college.
Winne’s source, who acknowledged sympathies on the Newton side of things, said the player and both parents have demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with the NCAA, beyond even the financial records turned over by the family, and from churches Cecil Newton oversees.
The infamous source even states that no money ever changed hands, Auburn never had anything to do with it anyway, and that Cecil and his church's financial records were voluntarily handed over from day one. The NCAA, FBI, and every investigative journalist in the country found
NOTHING. Any assumption that Cecil initiated these conversations, are not only pure speculation, but they are contradictory to the
facts of what is known to have taken place.
Any logical person interested in facts can see that MSU offered to pay. Cecil, to a fault, considered the offer, and then took the moral high road and refused the offer. That's the start, middle, and end of this story.