Cam Newton, a young, prominent, black quarterback, has received much backlash for walking out of a press conference after the Carolina Panthers' Super Bowl 50 loss. It's understood to many that he was being harassed by questions and comments that were likely quite discomforting after such a game. While some choose to believe that Newton is a “boy” and his retreat was highly immature, Newton is a promising black QB who has taken a lot of heat for even making it thus far. I suppose my question is this: how could you attack him for the walkout after overlooking Peyton Manning's 2010 temper tantrum?
Back in 2010, Peyton Manning, QB for the Indianapolis Colts at the time, stormed out of the Sun Life Stadium, where Super Bowl 44 was being held against the New Orleans Saints. His tantrum resulted from the last failed opportunity at winning the game. One small customary action that Mr. Manning failed to deliver was a congratulatory handshake to members of the opposing team. Writers, reporters and bloggers standing by Manning at the time justified his actions by dwelling on the aspect of “competitive fire.” There's a way to uphold that “competitive fire” with dignity, and the way Manning went about wasn’t exactly it.
Unlike Manning, at the end of Super Bowl 50, Cam Newton approached Manning in genuine nature. Newton gave a lavish smile - a smile as if he had just taken home the victory. He also gave a heartfelt man-to-man handshake, closing in the chest. Newton, being tossed and turned, sacked and locked down the entire game, didn’t allow the frustration of the 24 to 10 score to run him off the field.
With that same “competitive fire,” pinched with much dignity and sportsmanlike conduct, Newton did what should be done out of respect. Saints QB Drew Brees, during the 2010 episode, obtained no such love. So, why degrade Newton for an action Peyton got cut slack for? Why is Newton under so much fire for removing himself from a clearly overwhelming press conference?
After games, press conferences are optional, not mandatory. At these optional press conferences, reporters may attack you and your faults regarding the game you’ve just lost, and essentially expect you to swallow your pride while answering them respectfully, effectively and efficiently. Maybe that is fine and dandy for any other submissive athlete, but not Cam Newton! Newton approached the panel obviously disturbed - probably due to the disappointing outcome of the game.
Is that a good enough reason for reporters to let up on the questioning? To me, yes. To reporters, obviously not. Then, to top everything off, you have the victorious Chris Harris of the Denver Broncos, to the right of this press conference, candidly discussing the shutdown of the Panther’s “game plan.” So, it's understandable why Newton would’ve gotten up and walked away. It goes back to human psychology, really: you're being swarmed with questions, you're emotional about a tough loss in your first Super Bowl game, and you're getting an ear full about how the opposing ultimately shut you down.
How would anyone else react to questions thrown at him or her like daggers? An extremely vexed Newton just couldn’t take the heat anymore, so, as the saying goes, he got out of the kitchen. Opposing foul talk that could’ve landed him more than backlash, Newton took the high road and kept it moving.
Really, Cam Newton is a human being, and placing him on any higher spectrum because of his status is wrong. Yes, he is a pro-athlete and kids are looking up to him. Yes, children are more prone to idolize him before anyone else, but that still doesn’t justify the fact that he has been degraded for his actions while Manning's tantrum was trivialized. The moment was as real to Newton as it would’ve been to anyone else. So, maybe we should cut him the same slack we cut Manning.
To see Cam Newton's press conference, click here.
