Carolina Panthers star quarterback Cam Newton found himself in the dead center of an outrage storm he helped create after making a dismissive comment to a female reporter that quickly got him hammered as “sexist” from all sides. After getting sidelined by sponsor Dannon, and publicly reprimanded by the NFL, Newton published a recorded apology. Though the superhuman athlete starts off the apology rather poorly, by the end of the video he manages to work in a couple of solid one-liners and a hint of the charm that’s made him popular among so many fans.
The whole “sexist” debacle began when Newton told the Charlotte Observer‘s Jourdan Rodrigue that her question about route running was “funny” because it was coming from a woman. “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes,” he said, according to A.J. Perez of USA Today.
“I don’t think it’s ‘funny’ to be a female and talk about routes. I think it’s my job,” Rodrique posted on Twitter, adding that she spoke to Newton about the comment after the press conference, and chose not to print his response, because “it was worse.”
After being chided by the NFL and his team and losing a sponsor, Newtown posted his videotaped apology.
“After careful thought, I understand that my word choice was extremely degrading and disrespectful to women. And to be honest that was not my intentions,” he begins, in what starts off as an awkward and rote statement. “And if you are a person who took offense to what I said, I sincerely apologize to you.”
He then shifts to describing the man he tries to be, a slightly better segment of the still awkward apology.
“I’m a man who tries to be a positive role model in my community and tries to use my platform to inspire others,” he says. “And … I take ownership to everything that comes with that. And what I did was extremely unacceptable. I’m a father to two beautiful daughters, and at their age I try to instill in them that they can do and be anything that they want to be.”
The so far rather unconvincing statement then takes a more authentic and humorous turn when Newton all but admits that he’s apologizing because he’s rapidly losing sponsors and fans.
“The fact that during this process, I’ve already lost sponsors and countless fans, I realize that the joke is really on me,” admits Newton. “And I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this.”
Newton then urges his young fans not to be like him… “And to the young people who see this, I hope you learn something as well. Don’t be like me,” he says. “Be better than me.”
“And to the reporters and to the journalists, to the moms, super-moms,” he adds with a hint of a smile, “to the daughters, the sisters, and the women all around the world, I sincerely apologize and hope that you can find the kindness in your heart to forgive me. Thank you.”
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After the story first broke, the Carolina Panthers released a team statement saying Newton expressed “regret” for his comment.
“I have spoken with Jourdan and Cam and I know they had a conversation where he expressed regret for using those words,” said the team. “We strive as a department to make the environment for media comfortable for everyone covering the team.”
The NFL issued its own statement strongly rebuking Newtown. “The comments are just plain wrong and disrespectful to the exceptional female reporters and all journalists who cover our league. They do not reflect the thinking of the league,” read the statement.