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Robin PottratzCam Newton And The Race Issue
November 5th 2011 01:52
Cam Newton and the race issue is a touchy subject and I know that. It is sad that in 2011 with an African American President that race should be a subject but it is. First thing’s first I am a white dude. A 42 year old white dude living in North Carolina to be exact.
I get the vast majority of my Carolina Panther’s fix from listening to WFNZ, the best sports radio station in Charlotte. I am blessed with a job that I can do while listening to the radio and I listen to all the shows.
The Cam Newton race issue first came up when it wasn’t known Andrew Luck was going back to Stanford. Many Carolina Panthers fans desperately wanted Luck and Cam Newton didn’t get mentioned much as a possible draftee of the Panthers.
When it became clear that Luck wouldn’t be a Panther and Cam Newton may be, it hit the fan. Let me be honest, I wanted LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson cause I saw corner and punt returner as huge needs. I wanted the team to sign a veteran qb to replace Jimmy Clausen.
My not wanting Cam Newton wasn’t race related, it was spread offense related I bought the hype that spread quarterbacks do not play well in the NFL. Well to be truthful they didn’t until Cam Newton came along. Of course I now gladly admit I was wrong and am very happy that the Carolina Panthers drafted Cam Newton.
Many African American callers to the WFNZ shows felt that racism was why most fans didn’t want Cam Newton to be a Carolina Panther. They also said that racism was why media members were slamming Newton.
I didn’t want to believe that many fans would be against an African American Quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. Of course everyone who didn’t want Cam Newton isn’t a racist but there is an easy way to tell who are.
The callers or emailers who still slam Cam Newton and wait for him to mess up so they can pounce, those are the racists. The media guys who told us Cam Newton was not smart and wouldn’t work hard, those are probably racists.
It is clear Cam Newton has one heck of a work ethic and is VERY intelligent. I have watched every Carolina Panthers game this year and never saw a moment where Cam looked confused by the offense. Maybe by the defense but heck that is then norm for rookie quarterbacks. The fact that Cam Newton has played so well despite a real training camp shows how hard he works.
It really started to bother me when people compared Cam Newton to JaMarcus Russell or Michael Vick. Well Russell was a big tub of goo with a cannon arm and no work ethic. Michael Vick is lightning fast and improving on being a quarterback.
Cam Newton is an athlete but he isn’t Michael Vick fast nor will he be as fragile as Michael Vick. Cam Newton is leaps and bounds ahead of Michael Vick as a thrower compared to Vick’s rookie year. And comparing Newton to Russell is just people hoping for another African American Quarterback to become a bust.
Hopefully Cam Newton’s success will win more followers to him and the Panthers. And even more importantly it may open some minds that somehow have remained closed.
I get the vast majority of my Carolina Panther’s fix from listening to WFNZ, the best sports radio station in Charlotte. I am blessed with a job that I can do while listening to the radio and I listen to all the shows.
The Cam Newton race issue first came up when it wasn’t known Andrew Luck was going back to Stanford. Many Carolina Panthers fans desperately wanted Luck and Cam Newton didn’t get mentioned much as a possible draftee of the Panthers.
When it became clear that Luck wouldn’t be a Panther and Cam Newton may be, it hit the fan. Let me be honest, I wanted LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson cause I saw corner and punt returner as huge needs. I wanted the team to sign a veteran qb to replace Jimmy Clausen.
My not wanting Cam Newton wasn’t race related, it was spread offense related I bought the hype that spread quarterbacks do not play well in the NFL. Well to be truthful they didn’t until Cam Newton came along. Of course I now gladly admit I was wrong and am very happy that the Carolina Panthers drafted Cam Newton.
Many African American callers to the WFNZ shows felt that racism was why most fans didn’t want Cam Newton to be a Carolina Panther. They also said that racism was why media members were slamming Newton.
I didn’t want to believe that many fans would be against an African American Quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. Of course everyone who didn’t want Cam Newton isn’t a racist but there is an easy way to tell who are.
The callers or emailers who still slam Cam Newton and wait for him to mess up so they can pounce, those are the racists. The media guys who told us Cam Newton was not smart and wouldn’t work hard, those are probably racists.
It is clear Cam Newton has one heck of a work ethic and is VERY intelligent. I have watched every Carolina Panthers game this year and never saw a moment where Cam looked confused by the offense. Maybe by the defense but heck that is then norm for rookie quarterbacks. The fact that Cam Newton has played so well despite a real training camp shows how hard he works.
It really started to bother me when people compared Cam Newton to JaMarcus Russell or Michael Vick. Well Russell was a big tub of goo with a cannon arm and no work ethic. Michael Vick is lightning fast and improving on being a quarterback.
Cam Newton is an athlete but he isn’t Michael Vick fast nor will he be as fragile as Michael Vick. Cam Newton is leaps and bounds ahead of Michael Vick as a thrower compared to Vick’s rookie year. And comparing Newton to Russell is just people hoping for another African American Quarterback to become a bust.
Hopefully Cam Newton’s success will win more followers to him and the Panthers. And even more importantly it may open some minds that somehow have remained closed.
Photo of Cam Newton by Matthew Tosh. Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
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