Cam Newton has a penchant for sticking his foot in his mouth at press conferences, but he found himself embroiled in a national controversy for some remarks he made on Wednesday afternoon.
After responding a question by Charlotte Observer reporter Jourdan Rodrigue about receiver Devin Funchess’ route-running, Newton flippantly responded saying it was “funny” to hear a female talk about routes. It was reported that the Panthers QB and Rodrigue had talked after the press conference to discuss his comments. According to the Panthers, Newton had “expressed regret” to the reporter, contrarily, Rodrigue said he hadn’t.
Coming along to clarify the dispute, Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer wrote a piece condemning Newton’s actions and at the same time clarifying what happened during the confrontation between Newton and Rodrigue. The unfortunate part being that the clarification of the story doesn’t make Newton look any better.
Via The Charlotte Observer
After the news conference, Rodrigue wanted to find Newton and talk about what he said. She did catch up with him briefly. The conversation, according to Rodrigue, was not taped but went something like this:
She asked the quarterback if he really didn’t think a female could understand routes.
Newton said she wasn’t really seeing specific routes when watching the game, she was just seeing if somebody was open. She argued that he didn’t know what she saw nor how hard she had studied football, and that maybe the two of them needed to have a deeper conversation.
Newton said that maybe he should have said it was funny to hear “reporters” talk about routes and that, if she actually did know about them, then she knew more than most reporters. Then he gestured toward the locker room, still filled with her colleagues.
Rodrigue ended by asking Newton – whom she had introduced herself to on the first day of her employment with The Observer in October 2016 – if he knew her name after she had covered the team almost every day for the past year.
Newton said he did not.
“Jourdan Rodrigue, Charlotte Observer,” she said, and then walked away.
Newton questioning Rodrigue’s ability to do her job is indefensible at best, and misogynistic at the worst. Moreover, this could’ve been a teaching tool for Cam, who could’ve simply asked Rodrigue to discuss this further in private and more importantly share what she sees.
Hopefully when Newton wakes up tomorrow, he can do the right thing and apologize to Rodrigue for his ill-advised response to her question. That is of course, if Newton remembers her name tomorrow.
