The Bodda Getta

There is a quote from a while back that has stood out to me for a while.

When it was made known that Bond had met with the FBI, it was asked of him why they wanted talk to him.

His response was, "THEY DON'T WANT PEOPLE SHOPPING CHILDREN AROUND FOR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS".

To me, this always pointed to Kenny Rogers, not Cecil Newton. Of course our insightful media members looked right past it, and if anything, just ignorantly and lazily attached it to Cecil Newton.

But look at what it actually says. And look at what it does NOT say.

It does NOT say, "they don't want people shopping THEIR CHILD around for thousands of dollars".

It does NOT say, "they don't want someone shopping THEIR SON around for thousands of dollars".

Yes, I know its focusing on semantics, which can be a dangerous proposition.

But if you couple Bond's words with Rogers' actions, I think it's clear that Bond was referring to Kenny Rogers, not Cecil Newton.
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Below are a couple characters and who they claim to be. Let's compare what a reasonable person would do in their shoes, and then we'll look at what the actual characters did (admittedly) in real life.

KENNY ROGERS: You're a do-gooder ex-football player who helps troubled D-1 players find new life at D-II schools and other D-1 programs after coming out of JUCO. This is your life's work. You are a mentor, an expert at guiding them through this difficult time....helping them onto the straight and narrow as they look for new life at a program willing take them and their "baggage".

BILL BELL: You own a construction company in Florida. You are a legit business man that has nothing to do with recruits at the University where you played football. Essentially, you're just a regular guy.

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IMAGINARY ROLE PLAY:

YOU ARE KENNY ROGERS:

The father of new player you are "helping" states that he would need money for his son to sign with MSU. Money to the tune of $180,000.

What do YOU do if you are the Kenny Rogers described above?

You immediately and clearly make it known to Cecil Newton that you won't be able to assist him with something like that. Aside from the fact that it's just wrong, you can't afford to be associated with anything like that because of the nature of your occupation. Essentially, the response is, "sorry, I just can't help with something like that".

YOU ARE BILL BELL:

Out of the blue, your phone rings. It's an old teammate of yours, Kenny Rogers. He lets you know that he's with the father of a prospective recruit of MSU's football team. He proceeds to tell you that the father is requesting $180,000 for his son's signature.

What do YOU do if you are the Bill Bell described above?

The first question you ask is...."why are you calling me?". Then you clearly and somewhat forcefully explain that you will have no part of any such requests. I would think that you would even make known to Rogers your intent to call Greg Byrne, the MSU athletic director immediately, in order to make sure he knows one of his recruits is make such requests. (your assumption would be that MSU would want to know such information so they can sever ties with the young man and his father). And then you would end the conversation with a request to not be contacted again for such matters.

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REAL LIFE:

Let's now look at how the real Kenny Rogers and Bill Bell handled these scenarios...

KENNY ROGERS:

Cecil Newton requests that Rogers get money for him to sign with MSU (Rogers version). So, in spite of the fact that he has nothing to gain, and his career and national reputation would be permanently in jeopardy, he agrees to make some calls on your behalf. He doesn't simply get you a number or make some suggestions....he actually makes the call himself.

He then does all the talking, negotiating, and even texts a payment plan....all without getting anything in return. He is able, through connections, to get Cecil into multiple three-way calls with someone he feels can provide the money, essentially acting as a broker in cash deal.

BILL BELL:

Bell gets a call from former teammate Kenny Rogers. Rogers explains that he is calling on behalf of Cecil Newton, the father of an MSU recruit. He learns that Cecil is requesting $180,000 and Rogers thought Bell might be the man to call. Though the details aren't completely clear, we know that after learning this, Bell proceeds to have "multiple three-way calls" with Rogers and Cecil Newton. We also know that enough of a discussion took place that Rogers felt he should call Bell later to find out "if the deal is going to go through".

Now go back to the responses where YOU were role playing as Rogers and Bell, and compare that to the REAL life Rogers and Bell. Do the actions of Kenny Rogers and Bill Bell in REAL LIFE remotely match-up with who they claim to be? Read who they claim to be, then read how they handled themselves in the real life situation they found themselves in. Doesn't add up in the least.

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ADDITIONAL ROGERS INFORMATION -

Earlier this year the NFL Players Association issued a letter to Ian Greengross, an agent in Chicago. The letter outlined 17 violations regarding his standing as a licensed NFLPA agent. It should be noted that of the 17 violations, only 2 pertained to actions committed by Greengross himself.

The other 15 violations were actions committed by Kenny Rogers, a paid employee of Greengross ($2000 per month). Among the 15 violations is the accusation that Rogers has repeatedly lied about being an NFLPA agent. Players such as Daniel Manning, Trevard Lindley, Trindon Holiday, and Brandon LeFell are among those to whom he made such claims. Rogers says that he claimed to be a member of the “NFLPA retired players”. However, no such organization exists.

The NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith says that Rogers actions fall outside their jurisdiction, but that they are looking strongly into taking action in the matter and will "consider whether there's any criminal violation".

Now take this whole picture into account...I think it's abundantly clear who is "shopping children around for thousands of dollars".

I think this is why the FBI is looking into the whole situation. Rogers actions may be outside that of the NFLPA, but they certainly aren't beyond that of the FBI (especially things like calling Bill Bell and asking for money....federal offense right there). I think the NFLPA may have made a request to the FBI to investigate such matters since they have no such power to do so themselves. Also, the FBI can start an investigation into any high profile case they want. They may have been aware of Rogers previously and just decided to get involved as the Cam Newton side of things became national headline (high profile) news.

And so the saga continues.....