Panthers QB CAM NEWTON has drawn strong opinions during his career for his on- and off-field behavior, but he said the criticism is "not racism," noting everyone is "entitled to their own opinion," according to a cover-story profile by Zach Baron of GQ. Newton said, "Some people have certain beliefs, and I have my own belief, and we can agree to disagree on certain things. But this is what makes sports so amazing, that we can start a discussion around a table, in the newspaper, in the magazines, that will get people’s attention. And that’s what sports does.” Newton added, "I don’t want this to be about race, because it’s not. ... We’re beyond that. As a nation. ... You bring it to people’s attention. But after that, that’s it.” Baron writes even by the "standards of professional sports, the NFL is by far our most buttoned-down, militaristic, conservative, tyrannical, anti-individual league." Maybe that is "because it’s been so lucrative for so long," or maybe because the league has "always been a capital-t, capital-g Team Game that has allowed for precious few flashes of individuality." Newton said of his behavior, "The optimism of football brings people together closer than any other sport. It’s all about winning. I’m not trying to sound like CHARLIE SHEEN, but it is. We live life, like, America, we’re taught to become, you know, successful, and success comes with winning.”
LIFE AFTER THE BIG GAME: Baron notes Newton "carries an iPad with him in a case displaying the logo of Super Bowl 50 -- the game his Panthers lost in excruciating fashion, after which he went home and cried and cried and cried." Newton: "I had so much emotion. A lot of emotion." But now, he added, "I could [not] care less." Meanwhile, Newton "started smoking cigars two years ago," and after the Super Bowl, he "started drinking white wine, too, mostly Chardonnays."
GO FISH: Newton is a "pescatarian out of pure self-discipline," just to "prove to himself that he can." Newton: “If I can control myself not to eat meat, I can control myself not to litter. If you can control yourself not to litter, then you can control your choice of words. If you control your choice of words, you can, you know, kind of go down from there.”
SILENT COUNT: Asked if he had an opinion of DONALD TRUMP, Newton said, "I don’t. I think he’s an unbelievable businessperson. That’s probably it. But outside of my personal belief, that’s just, you know, my personal belief.” Asked if he voted for North Carolina Gov. PAT MCRORY, who enacted the controversial HB2, Newton said, "That’s too personal. You know, I gain nothing by answering it" (GQ, 9/ '16 issue).
LIGHTS, CAM-ERA...: ESPN's Israel Gutierrez said of Newton's comments, "It feels like Cam is still in that 'I'm becoming a superstar' mode and once he's ready to be able to talk on these topics, maybe he will. But then again, it's also not for everybody." The Washington Post's Kevin Blackistone added Newton "seems to be all over the map over the last year." Blackistone: "He sounds like a young man who's still trying to find himself in this new media world that we have where everyone is asking an athlete to say something that sounds important about something that is important" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 8/15). ESPN's Dan Le Batard said of Newton being criticized by other athletes for not speaking out more on race issues, "(He) doesn't see any value in saying that out loud at a position where it's safer to just not answer questions that are dangerous and inflammatory like this, without getting everybody really upset" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 8/15). Fox Sports' Jason Whitlock: "The author was trying to push the race narrative and Cam was like, 'Hey man, you've come to the wrong source for that'" ("Speak for Yourself," FS1, 8/15). ESPN's Jemele Hill said Newton "sounded a lot like somebody who was really trying to watch every word they said and probably was a little too hyper-aware of who he was talking to." ESPN's Michael Smith: "To say, especially at that position, that race has nothing to do with the commentary about you? Come on, man. Come on, now” (“His & Hers,” ESPN2, 8/15).
