This week, Carolina Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton has received a lot of criticism, but not for his play on the field. His reaction to a female reporter's question has landed him in the dog house and even resulted in him losing a sponsorship.
Beat reporter Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer asked on Wednesday about wide receiver Devin Funchess and his physicality while route running; it was a solid and appropriate question.
Newton smirked while she finished the question and then responded, "It's funny to hear a female talk about routes like…it’s funny.” He then went on to address “Fun’s” progress and answered the question but the damage was done. Newton undoubtedly returned to his locker to find a bevy of texts, Tweets and angry messages from women and men alike. But more on that later.
Cam Newton is no stranger to headlines. From leaving Florida as Tim Tebow’s backup, to his controversial title run at Auburn, to leaving the post-Super Bowl press conference after only a minute or two, Cam has marched to the beat of his own drum from day one and we don’t really expect that to change. Between his unconventional quarterbacking style and his fashion sense, Cam evidently doesn’t mind going against the grain but, in so doing, he's earned himself a fair share of criticism.
It was only two seasons ago that Newton led the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 after starting the season undefeated. En route to earning NFL MVP honors, the Panthers started the season by winning 14 straight games. Newton also won Offensive Player of the Year for his 45 total touchdowns and 49 points scored in the NFC Championship game remains a record, as the Panthers beat the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 to reach the big dance.
Outside of the 2015 season, it’s been a mixture of "Dabbin’ Cam" and what I like to call "Sad Cam." Dabbin’ Cam is the flamboyant, outgoing, flashy hat-wearing stud that can’t help but attract attention. Unfortunately, this Cam makes few appearances unless the team is performing well. Sad Cam, on the other hand, is who we see many other times.
Dabbin’ Cam thought he made a funny joke at the podium on Wednesday but, as Newton said in his response, the joke was on him and we’re only seeing Sad Cam today. And with his recent remarks causing an uproar and Cam having to issue an apology, it begs the question: Has Cam Newton grown accustomed to the taste of his toes?
Because he seems to have his foot in his mouth an awful lot.
Ultimately, these moments are signs of Cam Newton’s growth as a person. He’s said repeatedly that he’s a believer in, and a product of, second chances, which seems accurate. Despite these moments, he's clearly shown he isn't afraid to learn from them (and accept when he's wrong), which is something that we can all appreciate.
Color-blindness
When Colin Kaepernick began protesting police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem, questions would quickly become inevitable for every Black player. Especially so for superstar Black quarterbacks, like Cam Newton. Cam acknowledged that his race played a role in his game, when he said prior to Super Bowl 50 that, "I’m an African-American quarterback that may scare a lot of people because they haven’t seen nothing that they can compare me to.”
Still, he chose to keep silent on the matter for a while. He finally broke that silence in an interview with GQ Magazine in August 2016 when he asked about racism targeted towards him as a black quarterback, "I don’t want this to be about race, because it’s not,” he said. “Like, we’re beyond that. As a nation.” When questioned if he really meant that, "Yeah. I mean, you bring it to people’s attention. But after that, that’s it."
He reiterated similar sentiments when he said to ESPN a month later that, “We’re all the same color, you know?”
Newton’s tone changed after the killing of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte. That event and the unrest that followed struck a nerve with Newton, that made him eat his words from just weeks prior.
After the Super Bowl
In 2015, Newton led the Panthers to the Super Bowl, where they ultimately lost to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Traditionally, as the quarterback of the losing team, it’s customary to address the media after the game but, while he did take questions, Cam isn’t traditional. After his initial address of 61 words, he ignored most questions and only answered six questions, with another combined 17 words. My man said 78 words in an NFL press conference.
There are 78 words in just that ^ paragraph.
Newton later explained that he could hear Broncos players nearby talking about the game and his poor play, which prompted his abrupt departure, but that didn’t matter. Many criticized Newton’s attitude and unprofessionalism in the days that followed. It's a rare occurrence where Foot-In-Mouth disease could have been prevented by actually saying more words.
Here's the entire press conference transcript:
Crazy Font
This may just be me, but Cam Newton should feel like eating his words every time he posts something online in that stupid font he uses. It’s like his keyboard is stuck in “MySpace mode.” He’s individually finding these special characters each time he posts, or he has a whole keyboard with these characters set, either way it's ridiculous.
If you missed it, Amber Rose issued a response of her own to Cam's recent viral remarks, to which Cam also responded in his ridiculous typing style. Notice that he uses the character “1” for both capital “i” in GIVE and capital “L” in LOVE. What language is this??? And why??? So many questions.
Females talking about routes
This Cam Newton scandal may be the most costly as Dannon Oikos yogurt has decided to pull ads with the former Auburn tiger immediately. In a statement released on Thursday, senior director of external communications for Dannon Michael Neuwirth said, "We are shocked and disheartened at the behavior and comments of Cam Newton towards Jourdan Rodrigue, which we perceive as sexist and disparaging to all women.” This particular sponsorship won’t hurt his bank account as he’ll be paid out through the remainder of the deal, but his public image is definitely taking a hit.
Here’s the issue: while Cam thought it would be cute, funny and maybe even complimentary to highlight Ms. Rodrigue talking about routes so in depth, the reality is that, as she said, she’s “just doing her job.” The implication is that her gender is somehow an intellectual disadvantage. On one hand, this is why Cam thought it would be taken as a compliment: she’s at a disadvantage but still sounds like she knows what she’s talking about and it’s “funny.” But on the other hand, this is why so many, including myself, took it as offensive: basing anything on the fact that one gender is intellectually more advantaged than the other is, by definition, gender bias.
Newton eventually released a video apologizing for his remarks, and owned up to his bad choice of words. He mentions his own two daughters and how he now sees the issue in what he said. He doesn’t want them to go into any situations with any conscious or subconscious beliefs that their gender automatically puts them at a disadvantage.