In 2017, when Cam Newton was gainfully employed as the starting quarterback of the Panthers, he made a ridiculously sexist remark during a press conference. It was so ridiculously sexist that the league issued a statement condemning it.
“The comments are just plain wrong and disrespectful to the exceptional female reporters and all journalists who cover our league,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told PFT via email at the time. “They do not reflect the thinking of the league.”
That kerfuffle flowed from Newton answering a question from Jourdan Rodrigue, then of the Charlotte Observer, about the physicality with which receiver Devin Funchess runs his pass routes by saying, “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes. It’s funny.”
Newton is currently not employed by any NFL team. He nevertheless has opted to make multiple public comments that conjure the gender stereotypes in which Archie Bunker once trafficked.
Here’s the clip. He begins by distinguishing between a woman and a “bad bitch.” He later defines a woman as “handling your own but knowing how to cater to a man’s needs.” And the clip ends with Newton saying that, when a woman declares herself to be a “boss bitch,” the response is, “But you can’t cook. You don’t know when to be quiet. You don’t know how to allow a man to lead.”
If Newton were currently the starting quarterback of an NFL team, he’d take plenty of heat (justifiably) for these outdated views regarding gender roles and obligations. These comments will serve only to make it harder for Newton to get a roster spot on any NFL team -- especially at a time when six attorneys general have put the league on notice that the NFL must start treating women differently than it has.