Cam Newton was tired of walking on the eggshells, so on Wednesday he decided to treat them the way he does defenders near the goal line — doing him, giving caution the middle finger and crushing them.
Newton, has been shaped and molded for the public eye since 2010, when he hijacked college football and led Auburn to a national title on his way to capturing the Heisman Trophy. So he knows not only what to say and when to say it, but how much to say about it. But 11 days before he's set to lead the Panthers against the Broncos in Super Bowl 50, he finally addressed the elephant in the room that has made his five years in the NFL more anomalous than any great quarterback of his era — race. After getting it off his brawny chest, the 6-5, 245-pounder who controls everything on the field may have never felt more free off it.
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"I said it since Day 1. I'm an African-American quarterback," Newton said. "That may scare a lot of people because they haven’t seen nothing that they can compare me to. It’s funny, I get inspired; it makes me go out there and practice even harder."
Newton, knowing the criticism his words might arouse, was initially reluctant to respond when asked why he's more polarizing than other superstar athletes, but he'd had enough. Haters are going to hate regardless.
"I think this is a trick question, because if I answer it truthfully, it's going to be, 'Oh, he's this, that.' But I'm going to say it anyway. I don't think people have seen what I am or what I'm trying to do, and I said that prior to me being in this situation. But when I said it then — 'Oh, he's immature. Oh, he's young. He's this, that and the third.' It's like I felt a certain type of way then, I feel the same type of way now. Nothing's pretty much changed."
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He added: "They talk about maturity with me; they talk about skill set with this team. Nobody has changed. It’s been the same Ted Ginn that was drafted by the Miami Dolphins. It’s the same Jerricho Cotchery, the same Philly Brown, the same Cam Newton. Nothing’s changed. The only thing (that) has changed is that we’re winning."
Who knows if Newton has ever heard Mos Def and Talib Kweli's "Thieves in the Night", a song inspired by the Toni Morrison novel "The Bluest Eye", but nonetheless his drop-the-mic-moment in front of a room full of reporters in Charlotte personified their prose. They simultaneously depicted the muted existences minorities must lead while trying to thrive in a majority-dominated environment and declared his independence from having to fit anyone's standard of who he should be.
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It's why, according to research done by the Center for Talent Evaluation, more than a third of blacks feel as if they have to "compromise their authenticity" to conform to corporate culture.
Consider this passage from a story published in The Atlantic in 2015:
"In particular, black professionals had to be very careful to show feelings of conviviality and pleasantness, even — especially — in response to racial issues. They felt that emotions of anger, frustration, and annoyance were discouraged, even when they worked in settings where these emotions were generally welcomed in certain contexts..."
Newton has dealt with unfair criticism since he declared for the draft.
He couldn't simply be young, the way he was when he entered the NFL as a 22-year-old. He was labeled immature. He couldn't be a fiery competitor who hated losing more than he enjoys winning, just like Tom Brady. He was tapped as a locker room cancer that alienated himself from his teammates and was often written off as incapable of leading a group of men to the Promised Land despite having done it at nearly every level on which he had played.
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What we witnessed during Wednesday's press conference was the biggest victory of Newton's career even if he prevails against Peyton Manning and Denver next Sunday. We saw a man getting free.
Let's face it, although he's clean-cut, Newton will never be universally loved and accepted in the 'hood and on HGTV like his good friend Stephen Curry. His past is too checkered. More than seven years ago, he was arrested on charges of accepting a stolen laptop. Then, while he was being recruited by Division I schools after attending Blinn College, his father may or may not have accepted money in exchange for his son's signature. Both acts are unpardonable sins (just kidding); however, that is certainly enough evidence for the faultless, blameless masses hell-bent on hating on Newton forever to feel justified for doing so. He's finally tired of attempting to appease those folks.
"It’s like, here I am, I’m doing exactly what I want to do, how I want to do it," Newton said. "When I look in the mirror, it’s me. Nobody changed me. Nobody made me act a certain type of way and I’m true to my roots. It feels great, but yet, people are going to say whatever they want to say. And if I’m in this world living for that person — 'Oh, this person is going to say this, this person is going to say that' — then I can’t look at myself and say I’m Cam Newton, or I'm Cameron Newton to most people. Because I’m not, because I’m living for you."
That's refreshing to hear. It's just a shame he had to have an MVP season and lead his team to the Super Bowl in order to stand up and say it. That's an indictment against all of us. Let Cam Newton be the champ the way he wants to be the champ.