I don't think it's "funny" to be a female and talk about routes. I think it's my job.
While I agree with the sentiment - did anyone talk to/confront Cam about his comment? Why "Try" this via social media?
I spoke with him after and it was worse. I chose not to share, because I have an actual job to do today and one he will not keep me from.
Panthers director of communications Steven Drummond said in a statement that he spoke with Newton and Rodrigue "and I know they had a conversation where he expressed regret for using those words. We strive as a department to make the environment for media comfortable for everyone covering the team."
Rodrigue said in a statement that Newton did not apologize.
"This afternoon, I did my job as an NFL beat writer and asked Cam Newton a question about one of his receivers. I was dismayed by his response, which not only belittled me but countless other women before me and beside me who work in similar jobs," Rodrigue said. "I sought Mr. Newton out as he left the locker room a few minutes later. He did not apologize for his comments."
According to a Charlotte Observer report , Rodrigue asked Newton afterward whether he thought a woman couldn't understand receiver routes.
"Newton said she wasn't really seeing specific routes when watching the game, she was just seeing if somebody was open," the Observer reported. "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," according to the Observer. "Then he gestured toward the locker room, still filled with her colleagues."
Rodrigue, who the Observer reported had introduced herself to Newton last October on her first day with the newspaper, asked him if he knew her name. Newton said he did not, according to the report.
"Jourdan Rodrigue, Charlotte Observer," she said before walking away, according to the report.
Mike Persinger, the executive sports editor of the Observer, said Newton's comments were "unfortunate and out of line."
"The question Jourdan asked during the news conference was a good one, like countless other questions about football strategy and nuance she has asked in the course of doing her job,'' Persinger said.
In a statement, the NFL said "the comments are just plain wrong and disrespectful to the exceptional female reporters and all journalists. They do not reflect the thinking of the league."
The Association for Women in Sports Media said in a statement that it "is very discouraged by Cam Newton's disrespectful remarks and actions directed to a female reporter during today's Carolina Panthers media conference. As a watchdog group, AWSM demands fair treatment and positive workplace environments for women working in sports media."
The Pro Football Writers of America also condemned Newton's comments, saying in a statement that he "crossed the line."
Newton made headlines earlier in his career for his interaction with the media after the Panthers' loss to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50, when he cut short his session with reporters.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
This idiot is about 30 years behind the times. Many media outlets , print and broadcast, have female reporters , analysts, columnists and game announcers. ESPN Sunday Night baseball has had a woman game analyst in the booth for a couple years now. Another woman , Beth Mowins recently did play by play on an NFL Monday Night Football game, and has been doing play by play on college football games on ESPN for years.
Many women love sports, and know as much about it as many guys do.
Things must be damn near perfect in this world if that creates outrage.
As Susan Wright said:
And to be clear, it’s not wrong for a woman to be knowledgeable about sports. It’s ridiculous to get offended if someone expresses pleasant surprise over it.
Oh, so this is pc run amok in your mind? lol.
Newton himself admits down story that he should have said "it's funny to hear a reporter ask that question" instead of saying "female", because he believes that reporters don't understand pass play routes. (That is a laugh in itself - pass receiving routes are not rocket science).
He went out of his way to demean the female reporters, and it is perfectly fine for him to be criticized for it.
It's possibly the biggest non-story in history.
Women, generally, don't follow or play football as much as men. Statistically speaking, it's rare for a woman to be able to discuss a route tree. Is an off hand acknowledgement of reality that scary and offensive?
Seriously, if people have enough time to spare and energy to be outraged over something so mundane, then all of humanity's problems must have been pretty much solved, I guess.
You must be joking. It almost seems like you are being contrarian for no discernible reason. Has Trump's America traumatized you that much?
This woman's JOB is to understand football. She is the daily beat writer for a major city newspaper and covering a professional NFL football team.
What does what "most women" know about football remotely have to do with this?
Actually, it amounted to an unpleasant put down of her and women in general.
What's unpleasant is looking at how this goofball dresses.....Have you seen what this clown wears! One time he actually looked like a clown!
He was being an ass. Nothing new for NFL players or Coaches for that matter. These folks get a lot of money to play a game, not sure why we insist on listening to their inane voice when the helmet is off.
Because they get some of that money taken away if the don't let people listen to their inane voice
"I'm here so I wont get fined"