Here is where Cam Newton gets a sliver of sympathy from me.
He had a point.
Just not the one he was trying to make.
The Carolina Panthers quarterback drew outrage Wednesday when he laughed at a question posed by Jourdan Rodrigue, a reporter at the Charlotte Observer. He said it was “funny to hear a female” asking about the physicality of routes being run by Devin Funchess.
She and everyone else made sure he knew such sexist remarks are unacceptable. Dannon, a sponsor that uses Newton in its advertising, reportedly canceled its contract with the quarterback.
My thinking comes from a single angle: Few media members — male or female — actually know all the intricacies of football. If they did, they’d be coaches. And they’d own a playbook.
I can understand how a player might feel surprised when reporters ask “technical” questions. If Newton had said it’s “funny to hear reporters” asking such questions, I would have said, “Point taken,” though the media should have the right to ask any question.
But it’s silly for athletes to expect reporters to know all the details, especially since media generally aren’t allowed in practices or the locker room and don’t have playbooks. Teams do their best to keep the media in the dark on a lot of things.
But funny to hear a woman ask the question? Women have been nicely filling top reporting positions for decades. For Netwon to go sexist is straight out of 1965.
I think it’s safe to say Rodrigue knows more about football than Newton knows about journalism.