After losing a sponsorship with Oikos Greek Yogurt over remarks he allegedly made to female reporter Jourdan Rodrigue, Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton issued an apology.
Newton, 28, drew heat after laughing at a question about passing routes from the Charlotte Observer reporter.
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Instead of answering the question, Newton instead broke into a wide grin and quipped, “That’s funny, hearing a female talk about routes. Like, it’s funny.”
The journalist was rightfully ticked, and took to Twitter to remark that she doesn’t “think it’s ‘funny’ to be a female and talk about routes. I think that’s my job.”
A few minutes later, Rodrigue shared that she spoke with Newton about his comments after the press conference, “and it was worse.”
The reporter was not amused by the response and clearly Newton’s yogurt sponsor wasn’t either. In a statement to E! News, a Dannon spokesperson said the company was “shocked and disheartened” by the football player’s comments.
The company perceived the comments as “sexist and disparaging to all women.” Adding how, “It is entirely inconsistent with our commitment to fostering equality and inclusion in every workplace. It’s simply not OK to belittle anyone based on gender. We have shared our concerns with Cam and will no longer work with him.”
NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said,”I don’t want to anticipate the league stepping in here.” He did not, however, condone Newton’s words. “Everyone on this call knows the level of sophistication of our sports journalists. Gender plays no role at all in that,” Lockhart said, according to NBC Sports.
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“[Newton’s] statement was just wrong,” Lockhart continued. “And the people on this call know it is wrong, because you have first-hand experience.”
Newton has yet to apologize publicly or privately to the reporter, according to reports.
After the press conference, Newton was bashed on Twitter with tweets such as these:
Following the controversy that ensued, the Panthers issued the following statement. “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.”
Rodrigue, however, issued a statement of her own, which differs markedly from the Panthers’ statement claiming that Newton “expressed regret” for his words.
“This afternoon, I did my job as an NFL beat writer and asked Cam Newton a question about one of his receivers,” reads Rodrigue’s statement. “I was dismayed by his response, with not only belittled me but countless other women before me and beside me who work in similar jobs,” she wrote.
“I sought Mr. Newton as he left the locker room a few minutes later,” she added. “He did not apologize for his comments.”
The NFL also issued a statement, and their stance was not pro-Newton: “The comments are just plain wrong and disrespectful to the exceptional female reporters and all journalists who cover our league,” stated league spokesman Brian McCarthy. “They do not reflect the thinking of the league.”
On Thursday, Newton finally addressed the controversy, issuing a video apology on Twitter.
Acknowledging that “what I did was extremely unacceptable,” Newton claims to have learned a valuable lesson from the backlash.
“The fact that, during this whole process, I’ve already lost sponsors and countless fans — I realize that the joke is really on me,” he said. “I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this.” Watch:
