Kenny Rogers: "I Didn't Talk to Cam, I Talked To Mr. Newton"

Kenny Rogers laid all his cards on the table this afternoon on ESPN 103.3 FM's Ian Fitzsimmons Show. In that interview, he made it clear that Cecil Newton—Cam Newton's father—initiated the pay-for-play conversation—not him.

Furthermore, Rogers stated that the Newton's knew he was approaching Mississippi State for money and any thing said otherwise is, essentially, untrue. 

Now that Rogers has come forth to offer his account of the situation, we a"know" the following:

1) Cecil Newton approached Rogers with the idea of soliciting his son's services for money.

2) Rogers never personally approached John Bond to ask him for said money (an amount Rogers states was between $100,000 and $180,000.

3) Cam Newton may or may not have been made aware of what his father was doing.

4) Bill Bell, a Mississippi State booster, was contacted, on behalf of Cecil Newton to request the money.

5) Auburn's involvement in this whole mess is still not understood or known. Rogers could not confirm or deny that the Tigers paid to get Newton—his knowledge ends with what transpired between himself and Mr. Newton.

The natural question now is, what can be done with this information?

The main sticking point for the NCAA is whether or not Cam Newton, or Auburn University, had any knowledge of what Mr. Newton's dealings were with Mississippi State boosters, coaches, or otherwise.  If they can connect those dots with any consistency, they can make a decision on the appropriate actions to take. As of now, it is still he said/he said and there is little than can be done with that.

Either way, the water just got a whole lot hotter for the Tigers now that Rogers has, essentially, passed the buck back to Mr. Newton and his gang of merry men.

That said, if you've followed this story closely, two things are liable to be nagging at your noggin right now—assuming you're just a casual observer. First, why is everyone so intent on bringing this story to light now—10-months after it was reported to the NCAA?

How has a scandal of this scale escaped scrutiny for nearly a year?

Even more, would any one be so intent on solving the mystery if the Tigers were tanking and Cam Newton were playing bad football?

Secondly, who can you believe at this point? Everyone has proven to be a liar.

Cecil Newton now has at least two people on record stating he asked for money. There is also proof that Mr. Newton made the decision to go to Auburn, despite knowledge that a Mississippi State booster was willing to pay the amount he requested.

Was that because Auburn paid more or because, as Mr. Newton would later say, he didn't want his son to become a "rented mule" at a school like Mississippi State where, despite the presence of Dan Mullen, he was bound to be playing with a lesser talent pool?

All Rogers did by coming forward is bring about more questions, more speculation, and more finger-pointing. 

This whole thing stinks and, unfortunately, for Gene Chizik and Cam Newton, it's the story that just doesn't want to go away.