ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell is the new Miss America, but her crowning moment was nearly overshadowed by a three-decade old pageant scandal, and a still-raw debate over whether the NFL’s reigning champions cheated on their way to a Super Bowl victory.

Cantrell rode an opera performance of “Tu Tu Piccolo Iddio” from “Madame Butterfly” to the title in Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall on Sunday night, besting 51 other competitors in the nationally televised pageant. She won a preliminary competition earlier in the week, also with an opera performance.