Kenny Rogers admits to Bill Bell text message
Mississippi State booster and the man at the centre of the Cam Newton investigation, Kenny Rogers, admitted that he sent a message to fellow booster Bill Bell regarding payments that needed to be made to Newton’s father Cecil.
Rogers’ attorney Doug Zeit told The Associated Press on Thursday 18 November that his client was aware that he had made a poor decision when he texted payment details to Bell.
Zeit stated that Rogers sent a text message to Bell saying that Newton’s father would need $80,000 on the day his son signed with Mississippi State, then another $50,000 30 days later, with a final payment of $50,000, 60 days after the signing.
According to Rogers, he was unable to get the money off Bell and received a phone call from Newton, who was upset, saying that he was sorry, but he could not come to Mississippi State because his father said that the money from Auburn was too much.
According to the Newton’s lawyer George Lawson, Cam knew nothing about any money being exchanged and that the Newton family had met with investigators and answered all their questions truthfully.
Nevertheless, Bell maintains that Cecil Newton was fully aware of the payment he would receive in exchange for his son’s commitment to Mississippi State.
"[Cecil Newton] didn’t come out and say, 'I want $180,000'," Bell told ESPN. "He inferred it and talked about it, but not directly. Kenny would talk about it in front of him and [Cecil Newton] never corrected him or said, 'No that’s not what we’re doing'."
Former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond also told ESPN that he had been contacted by Rogers in order to try and procure the funds to pay Newton’s father.
The Newton family and Rogers are currently under investigation by the FBI, the state and the NCAA.
Tags: