The Long Read: Let’s talk about Cam…
Cameron Jerrell Newton is a unique human being. That uniqueness has caused him to be something of a Marmite character in the realm of sports fans, and notably, Patriots fans upon hearing of the signing in June 2020. Sure, he’s missed basically two seasons through freak injuries, but that’s not a reason to love or hate someone. Is there something more insidious to the hatred Newton receives? Is the love justified? Let’s look at the evidence.
Number One
Many have put forth that his number choice is illustrative of his ego and arrogance, whilst defenders argue that quarterbacks need to be supremely confident to play in the NFL. Do other quarterbacks receive the hate that Newton does? Does Tom Brady receive the same level of derision? Perhaps the number 12 is less inciteful than number 1.
But Newton hasn’t always been #1. At Auburn, he wore #2; a number that was already worn by Panthers starting QB Jimmy Clausen in Carolina when he was drafted, which is why he switched to 1 — Many new arrivals buy the number from the incumbent but Newton didn’t want to cause a scene. He wore #2 for Blinn College too after he transferred from Florida. He wore #13 at Florida where he served as the number two to starting QB Tim Tebow. Newton has routinely scoffed at the idea that number one means anything but a jersey number, but it’s understandable that to fans, the behemoth quarterback’s supreme confidence might just be epitomising itself on the back (and front) of his jersey, and some fans don’t like that.
“It’s not the number. It’s the person wearing it” — Cam Newton
Superman
Most fans know Newton’s signature chest-pulling celebration, but fewer know that his most common celebration is to find a child in the front row to gift the touchdown-scoring football to. Every. Single. Time. To those children, he’s a real life, Superman. Nonetheless, his celebration has rubbed people the wrong way, unlike Green Bay Packers QB, Aaron Rodgers with his signature championship belt celebration, for some reason. Maybe NFL supporters are all Marvel fans?
At 6'5"(1.92m) and 250lbs (115kg), Newton is worthy of the nickname Super Cam. He’s been called it since he was young. Seeing him next to other professional athletes makes you stare in awe at his stature, and explains some of his more unbelievable plays on the football field. In 2015, he threw for 3,837 yards and 35 touchdowns, accounting for 75% of the Panthers’ touchdowns, in an offence with limited talent. He was picked off just 10 times and added 636 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground, en route to a 15–1 record, an MVP award, and a loss in the Super Bowl to Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos.
“If you want to solely say I’m playing great, it also means a lot of other guys are playing great. This is not a one-man show. I understand that, and I will not have that type of attitude” — Cam Newton, October 2013
Arrogance
One charge leveled at Newton throughout his collegiate and professional career by football fans has come from people who don’t know him directly. People called Serena Williams and Mohammed Ali arrogant too, remember? There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and arguably all good leaders walk that line, especially quarterbacks. Fans see the smirks, the endzone dabbing, the Superman celebrations, the charisma, and the charm with the media and accuse him of arrogance.
His coaches have never agreed with that stance.
“I can see where someone who doesn’t know Cam as well as I did would say he is arrogant. He’s not arrogant. He was confident” — Brad Franchione, Head Coach, Blinn College
If ESPN’s SEC college football host Paul Finebaum had not tweeted in September 2019, would people be discussing Newton in such a way?
“We’re not watching the beginning of the end. It is the end. It’s over for CAM NEWTON…He’s a train-wreck right now. He can’t do what he used to do…Forget the sympathy toward him. Cam Newton has never cared about anybody — other than Cam Newton.” — Paul Finebaum, ESPN, Sept 2019
Newton has received glowing accolades from teammates that probably know him better than a TV analyst:
“He’s been a true warrior. A true champion.” - Christian McCaffrey, Panthers RB
“He showed up every day early. He’s working hard “ — Jon Beason, Panthers LB
“I think it’s clear to most people now how hard he’s been fighting all year to stay out there and keep giving us a chance to win.” — Ryan Kalil, Panthers OL
“It could be a long year for the other teams, because he’s a game-changer.It’s definitely terrifying to think about if Cam Newton’s healthy and he’s in Belichick’s offense.” — Greg Van Roten, former Panthers OL
“He’s headed in the right direction. I mean, he’s probably about as healthy as it gets from what I’ve seen on video. I think he’s ready to bust out. Don’t ever bet against him. I would never bet against the young man, that’s for sure.” — Ron Rivera, former Panthers HC
Newton is a unique specimen. He’s a huge human being with incredible natural ability, leadership, and to top it off, he has the rugged good looks of the Man of Steel himself. To hate him for running with that is to hate on any player for embracing their nickname.
Criminality
“The 20-year-old arrived at Blinn in 2009 with a chip on one shoulder, a Nike duffel on the other, and so began the most transformative year of his life.” — SI.com
It would be unjust to not mention Cam’s legal trouble at Florida. In 2008, he stole a laptop from another student and tried to hide it by throwing it out of his dorm window. Charges were later dropped and he committed to a diversion programme instead. He was accused of academic cheating on three separate occasions. The first involved him trying to cheat in a test. The second involved him putting his name on another student’s work. The third time, he was accused of buying an assignment from the internet. This meant he potentially faced suspension or expulsion and combined with Tebow returning for his senior year, meant that Newton had little choice but to transfer to Blinn College. Newton’s father chose Blinn College because he knew that the head coach, Brad Fanchione, would keep his son on the straight and narrow. He had a reputation for being tough.
Bearing in mind how Americans view crime and punishment, Cam’s legal trouble is undoubtedly a factor in the derision he receives and could play a part in Patriots fans disliking the decision to sign him. Whatever happened to second chances?
“Ninety-nine percent of the kids end up here because of academics, they didn’t take care of business for whatever reason in high school or their previous college. So they really look up to Cam. He’s an example that you can always get back on course.” — Keith Thomas, Blinn College coach
Racism
This is absolutely a factor for some NFL fans. When combined with the criminality, for some more conservative fans, it only cements what they — wrongly — already believe about people of colour. The Undefeated did an excellent piece on the topic. Just look at how fans reacted to the Washington NFL team changing its name for evidence that racism is alive and well in the hearts of [some] NFL fans. Don’t think Newton faces racism? Let’s look at some Tweets — these were not isolated incidents [these were painful to type, even censored]:
“Cam Newton is nothing but a thug dancing to that n****r music” (@jaxxxonx, 28/11/15)
“Assassinate Cam Newton right now, stupid n****r” (@ffraxure, 27/12/15)
“Cam Newton is a dabbing f****t n****r” (@notabastard, 25/1/16)
“Cam newton is a N****R he shouldn’t be in the SuperBowl he should be in PRISON” (@HW_TRK, 25/1/16)
“Cam Newton is still a [sic] unapologetic n****r” (que_realigion, 25/1/16)
If Newton is a thug, perhaps it’s best-expressed THUG: Talented, Hated, Underrated, Gripping.
Football announcers were panned for their racial bias in a report highlighting that black players were praised for their athleticism exclusively, whilst white players were praised for their leadership, intelligence, and hard work. Psychologists call this coded language and it is part of a systemic racism problem that pervades the western world, especially the USA. Further studies backed this up. African Americans receive 96% of the negative comments about intellect off the field.
Quarterback is a position reserved in the minds of many white people that is exclusively for white men. If that offends you because you’re white and you’ve never thought that, then you’re angry at the wrong thing, and you’re missing the point entirely. Be angry at the racists who are tarnishing football fans’ reputation, not at the person pointing it out. Sorry not sorry. If you are white and don’t consider QB a white man’s position, the opening statement doesn’t apply to you, so you shouldn’t feel attacked. Vox looks at this in more detail. Most NFL quarterbacks have been white, and most still are. There is a multitude of reasons for that, none of which will be delved into here, but for the small-minded, race plays a factor in determining which positions are suitable for their world view.
That’s not to say that Cam himself is perfect — a female interviewer raised his eyebrows for understanding the correct football terminology, resulting in a later apology. But he acknowledges that and accepts that he is still learning, and in an age of cancel culture, is that not exactly what we should strive for? People who argue that he (or anyone else) in any way deserves racist comments because of [insert whataboutism here] are not good people.
Don’t be like me. Be better than me. (Cam Newton)
Fashion choices
Cam Newton wears Versace zebra print trousers and has a hat-maker on speed dial, ready to match a hat to his outfit every single week. Cam Newton likes flashy clothes like NFL legend, Broadway Joe Namath, which is scandalous to the USA. Cam refuses to abide by the unwritten rule of appropriateness for black athletes to incorporate conservative America, and for that, he is despised. He refuses to stay in his lane. He doesn’t know his place. See how easily the criticism over his dress sense — which is harming nobody — can be unpicked and show cultural and racial biases?
People dislike him because they think he’s gay — he isn’t — but why would that be a valid justification for disliking someone? Is America full of racist homophobes? A man who likes fashion isn’t by default a homosexual and it shouldn’t need to be stated explicitly. Nor should it matter if he was because it neither makes him a lesser player, nor a lesser person. Newton has four children, Cashmere, Sovereign-Dior, Camidas, and Chosen. And if his children grow up half as confident in their own skin as Newton is himself, he’s accomplished something that most parents fail at, regardless of what he’s wearing on his head.
Could it be that there’s also an envious eye cast at the esoteric fashion choices of Newton because he’s so unfazed by the negativity that he dares to be himself regardless? What would you do if you were free from the judgment of your peers?
Leadership
Head coach at Blinn College, Brad Franchione (son of Alabama and Texas A&M head coach, Dennis Franchione) told Newton to read “Leadership is an Art,” by Max Depree. When training began, Cam arrived first and stayed 45 minutes later than everyone else. After a month, his receivers started to stay behind too. He never asked them to; they just didn’t want to let Cam down. When Franchione asked players to volunteer to paint the bleachers, Newton put his hand up. This was a player unafraid to do what it took to help his teammates, and his teammates flocked to him as a result. Franchione admitted to losing sleep having to keep four or five leadership books on his nightstand to comb through and pick out concepts each night to meet Newton’s thirst for motivational lessons. When Blinn College were in the playoffs, defending a close come-from-behind lead late in the game, who came in at safety for the final play of the game to prevent a Hail Mary? Cam Newton. Of course.
At Auburn, Newton led Auburn to a 28–27 victory over Alabama in the Iron Bowl after being down 24–0, scoring four touchdowns. His college and professional teammates have high praise for his leadership. In 2018, injuries caught up to him and he helped the backup QB’s prepare for the games. He didn’t need to do that, but a leader does, and Cam did. In 2019, he did the same.
He even went so far as to have custom cleats made with teammates’ names on. Even his doubters must agree that Newton is exactly what you want in a leader and the face of your franchise.
“I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s a yes-sir, no-sir kid, 100 percent trustworthy, with a strong passion to compete at anything. What a strong, strong leader.” — Ronny Feldman, Blinn College coach
Philanthropy
When Blinn College head coach Brad Franchione’s kindergarten son had show and tell, he begged his dad to let him take Cam. The theme was ‘Q’ and the young boy wanted to bring his favourite quarterback. Cam obliged. He’s often gone out of his way to help children, perhaps trusting them to judge him less than the adults who should know better.
In 2012, Newton established his own foundation, the Cam Newton Foundation, identifying three pillars to work on: Every 1 Plays, focusing on youth activity and mentoring high school football players; Every 1 Gives, focusing on donations and community outreach; and Every 1 Learns, focusing on diversity and societal education. In his first season in Carolina, he began an annual tradition, Cam’s Thanksgiving Jam — a giant holiday party for hundreds of families from the Boys & Girls Club, providing food, gifts, and entertainment for deprived families, donating $100,000 per year.
In 2017, the 4-year-old daughter of a Panthers beat writer was on the sideline at training camp. Upon learning that it was her birthday, Newton spent 25 minutes after practice throwing a mini football and talking with her and her dad, he then signed the football. If that sounds like a selfish player, you’re going to hate half the league.
His foundation distributed thank-you gifts to local public school teachers every year, along with blankets for the homeless at Christmas. In 2018, Newton headed to several schools, a men’s shelter, a food bank, and the Urban Promise Charlotte After-School and Summer Camp. At each stop, he donated cheques or gift cards, totaling over $130,000. Newton also provided free Under Armour backpacks to local kids. In 2019, his foundation held a charity flag football tournament, a celebrity kickball game to raise money for the children’s hospital, and even a spin class led by Newton himself.
In 2020, he received the Walter Payton Man of the Year award for his dedication to charity. He still routinely surprises sick children in hospital and will wait to sign autographs for every single child after practice. He’s a regular feature for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The accusations that he’s selfish or lazy must die because they’re total fabrications.
Football player
Cam Newton is a football player. He’s the son of former NFL safety, Cecil Newton Sr, and brother of former Jaguars centre, Cecil Jr. Football is in his blood. But it’s not just his natural athleticism that makes him an outright freak; his work ethic in the weight room and beyond has made his workouts the stuff of Insta-fame, and his knowledge of the game has drawn accolades from nearly every coach he’s ever had. He has a sociology degree too (that’s the science behind patterns and motivations of people, culture, and their relationships, for the layman).
At FBS Blinn College, he threw for 2,833 yards, rushed for 655, and scored 39 total touchdowns. The Buccaneers went 11–1, and won the NJCAA national championship. At Auburn, he won the BCS National Championship, over high flying Oregon, 22–19.
In 2015, Newton led the Panthers to a 15–1 record and a Super Bowl berth, where they lost out to Peyton Manning’s Broncos. His career thus far looks like this: Cam is third on the NFL’s all-time rushing list for quarterbacks, with 4,806 yards, averaging 5.1 YPC, with a long of 72 yards. (Michael Vick tops the list with 6,109, followed by Randall Cunningham with 4,928). He’s the first QB to 50 rushing TD’s and leads the Panthers in all-time passing (182) and rushing touchdowns (58).
If you are going to pick apart Newton’s game, it’s like this: He’s thrown 108 interceptions and fumbled 52 times (losing 20). That’s 128 turnovers. He has a deep ball style of play that results in 50/50 jump balls and a high volume of incompletions, sitting at just 59.6% completion rate. For comparison, Tom Brady has 64% completion and has thrown 179 interceptions in a career that is double that of Newton. Perhaps that’s an unfair comparison in several ways, but let’s look at it another way — Newton turns the ball over at a rate of 128 times on 3,980 pass attempts for a rate of 3.2%, compared to Brady’s 227 times on 9,988 attempts for a rate of 2.3%. He puts the ball in harm's way more often than the GOAT. But then, is that not part of the reason why he’s the GOAT? Compare Newton to several other big name QB’s with at least 5 seasons played and see how he stacks up:
Player / Turnovers / Attempts / Rate / Completion %
Michael Vick 133 / 3,217 / 4.1% / 56%
Brett Favre 409 / 10,169 / 4.0% / 61.9%
Eli Manning 300 / 8,119 / 3.7% / 60.3%
Ben Roethlisberger 236 / 7,230 / 3.3% / 62.4%
Phillip Rivers 245 / 7,591 / 3.2% / 64.7%
Peyton Manning 279 / 9,380 / 3.0% / 65.3%
Matthew Stafford 166 / 5,696 / 2.9% / 62.5%
Drew Brees 277 / 10,161 / 2.7% / 67.6%
Matt Ryan 174 / 6,819 / 2.6% / 65.4%
Russell Wilson 88 / 3,777 / 2.3% / 64.5%
Aaron Rodgers 107 / 6,061 / 1.8% / 64.6%
Other than showing how otherworldly Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson are, it highlights that Newton isn’t an anomaly in terms of rate of turnover rate, and that perhaps his turnover propensity is a touch overblown. The elephant in the room of course is his escapability. He has that Mike Vick elusiveness, the power of Maurice Jones-Drew, the speed of Larry Fitzgerald in his prime, and the size of Rob Gronkowski. He’s harder to sack than anyone else. He turns the ball over not due to an inaccurate style (although he could stand to improve there), but because of the system he’s been in at Carolina and the rushing he does that few other QB’s have ever been able to attempt. You can dislike Newton’s style of play, but even then, he’s a top ten QB by almost every metric.
“He’s a little bit different. His whole attitude — he’s got something to prove” — Ron Rivera, Head Coach of the Washington NFL Team and former Head Coach of Cam
Conclusion
It’s okay to dislike Cam Newton, just as that’s your prerogative for anyone, athlete or not. But at the very least make it a reason that is founded in logic and evidence. Make it a football decision.
It would be remiss to call Newton a perfect role model of unadulterated success from hard work alone. It would be a mistake to ignore his misgivings and some questionable decisions in his past. But is America not the land of second chances? Is it not more realistic — more authentic — to have a player be a role model who has not had an easy time to get to where he is now? Does he not deserve to be judged by his character now, not his teenage mistakes? Teaching your children to be perfect will lead to a lot of therapy bills 30 years from now, as young men come to terms with never living up to unrealistic expectations. Yet here is a man in Cam Newton who gives up his time, his money, and his body to help others, on and off the field, but receives hatred in response.
Newton knows the precariousness of his status, and he is unequivocally himself — is that not what we tell our children to be? Who are we to deny him the moniker of role model because his path was more tumultuous than most? Indeed, it should be argued that he is a role model because he took the path less trodden and emerged from it a better man, a better leader, and a better quarterback as a result. And if you’re a fan of the New England Patriots, you should be proud to utter the emotional yet immortal words of Terrell Owens…
