Cam Newton, quarterback for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, created controversy in October of 2017 when Charlotte Observer reporter Jourdan Rodrigue asked Newton during a press conference about his wide receiver Devin Funchess and “embracing the physicality of routes and whether Newton got enjoyment out of that.” Newton seemed to mock the reporter by responding, “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes like…it’s funny.” After Newton’s coach Ron Rivera said the quarterback had “made a mistake” and after Dannon Oikos Yogurt opted to end its sponsorship of the player, Newton opted to release a video apology on social media, calling his behavior “extremely degrading and disrespectful.” He also told his young fans “Don’t be like me; be better than me” and asked all women around the world to forgive him.
Key Apologia Strategies:
Mortification, Good Intentions, Bolstering
Video
Transcript
“After careful thought, I understand that my word choice was extremely degrading and disrespectful to women. And to be honest, that was not my intention. If you are a person who took offense to what I said, I sincerely apologize to you.
I’m a man who tries to be a positive role model to my community and tries to use my platform to inspire others. I take ownership to everything that comes with that. 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 fact that during this whole process I’ve already lost sponsors and countless fans, I realize that the joke is really on me. And I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this. To the young people who see this, I hope that you learn something from this as well. Don’t be like me; be better than me.
To the reporters, to the journalists, to the moms — super moms — to the daughters, the sisters and the women all around the world, I sincerely apologize and hope that you can find the kindness of your heart to forgive me. Thank you.”
Lewis, A. (2017, October 6). Cam Newton apologizes for sexist remark made to female reporter. CNN. Retrieved from: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/06/sport/cam-newton-carolina-panthers-female-reporter-jourdan-rodrigue/index.html
Newton, D. (2017, October 6). Cam Newton apologizes for response to female reporter. ESPN. Retrieved from: http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20928510/cam-newton-carolina-panthers-apologizes-response-female-reporter
Cam Newton apologizes for sexist comment to reporter, says he was “disrespectful to women.’ (2017, October 5). SB Nation. Retrieved from: https://www.sbnation.com/2017/10/5/16433934/cam-newton-apology-video-sexist-comment-panthers
