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Cam Newton Says It's 'Funny' Hearing Female Reporter 'Talk About Routes'
October 4, 2017
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton appeared to make a sexist comment during Wednesday's press conference.
Newton chuckled and said it was funny to hear Jourdan Rodrigue, a female reporter for the Charlotte Observer, ask him about passing routes. Bridget Condon of ABC 11 in Durham, North Carolina, shared a clip of Newton's reaction to the question:
GQ's Jay Willis provided the transcript of Rodrigue's question:
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport shared a statement from Panthers spokesman Steven Drummond: "I have spoken with Jourdan and Cam 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."
Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer passed along details of the second encounter:
"She asked the quarterback if he really didn't think a female could understand routes.
"Newton said she wasn't really seeing specific routes when watching the game, she was just seeing if somebody was open. 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. Then he gestured toward the locker room, still filled with her colleagues."
Rapoport also shared a statement from Rodrigue:
Rodrigue responded to Newton's comments on Twitter:
The Association of Women in Sports Media also released a statement condemning Newton's remarks:
The Pro Football Writers Association released a statement on the comments as well:
USA Today's Lindsay Jones underscored why Newton was so far off the mark:
While the NFL is a male-dominated league in terms of those who run teams and work on coaching staffs, that couldn't be further from the truth in terms of NFL fans, with women making up 45 percent of those who watch the game.
The idea that a woman, especially an NFL beat writer, doesn't understand the nuances of the game should be a relic of the past.