Cam Newton is finally sharing his thoughts on the criticism he received last season regarding the “dab” and other touchdown celebrations. Though many spectators rooted for him, there were many who called him “flashy” and “arrogant.” It didn’t take long for social media to notice that Cam’s white counterparts weren’t met with the same opposition. Could Cam’s criticism be race related? Cam doesn’t thing so. In fact, he thinks we’re beyond racism in 2016.
In the latest issue of GQ magazine, Cam was asked about his January statement where he said “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.”
“I don’t want this to be about race, because it’s not. It’s not. Like, we’re beyond that. As a nation,” Cam said. When asked to clarify, Cam explains, “Yeah. I mean, you bring it to people’s attention. But after that, that’s it.”
In the article, GQ goes on to point out that Cam’s views on race matters were pretty different when he spoke to Ebony Magazine, and not that what he’s saying to GQ is untrue, but when speaking to Ebony, he had a slightly different approach.
GQ states:
‘Not saying Cam doesn’t mean what he says here. I couldn’t begin to know that. But I do know that he and his father, Cecil, have said and indicated otherwise as recently as four months ago. In April, after the Super Bowl, Cam gave an interview to Ebony and got to talking about the hoodie he’d worn during his Super Bowl press conference. He asked them if they would consider taking his photograph wearing a hoodie again. According to the magazine, Newton’s father explained to them why: “The hoodie can represent a lot of things as it pertains to a young Black man. Trayvon Martin. Black Lives Matter. Even as athletics can function as a leverage piece for African-American expression, it still points to the inequities that go on.”
My guess, based on the few public quotes from Cam Newton and his dad on this subject, is that what Cecil told Ebony is more or less how Cam actually feels. ‘
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So as you can see, it’s pretty difficult to determine what Cam’s views really are. That’s one of the tough things about being a professional athlete/public figure, you want to say the right things at the right moments. For what it’s worth, we shouldn’t look to celebrities to say all of the right things anyway.
Cam has caught a little flack for his GQ comments. Do you think people should give Cam a break?
You can read Cam Newton’s entire GQ article
HERE.
