Entertainment

Watch: Cam Newton issued an apology for his ‘degrading and disrespectful’ comments to a reporter

Newton’s comments were deemed to be sexist by many on social media.
Newton’s comments were deemed to be sexist by many on social media. Newton’s comments were deemed to be sexist by many on social media.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has apologised after his reaction to a female reporter’s question, saying: “My word choice was extremely degrading and disrespectful to women.”

Panthers beat writer Jourdan Rodrigue had asked Newton a question about one of his receivers, to which the quarterback replied: “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes, like, it’s funny.”

Newton then answered the question, but after reaction on social media the 28-year-old issued the following apology.

“If you are a person who took offence to what I said, I sincerely apologise to you,” said Newton. “I’m a man who tries to be a positive role model in my community, and tries to use my platform to inspire others, and I take ownership to everything that comes with that.

“What I did was extremely unacceptable. I’m a father to two beautiful daughters, and at their age I’m trying to instil in them that they can do and be anything that they want to be.

“The fact that during this whole process I’ve already lost sponsors and countless fans, I realise that the joke is really on me, and I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this.”

Newton continued: “And to the young people who see this, I hope that you learn something from this as well. Don’t be like me. Be better than me.

“To the reporters, to the journalists, to the moms, super moms, to the daughters, the sisters and the women all around the world, I sincerely apologise and hope that you can find the kindness in your heart to forgive me. Thank you.”

Newton’s apology received a positive reaction on social media, with many suggesting that the world of sport move on from the incident.

Although not everybody reacted well to his choice of wording.

Meanwhile Rodrigue has also found herself in trouble, as tweets from 2012 and 2013 deemed racially insensitive were found on her Twitter account.

“I apologize for the offensive tweets from my Twitter account from 4/5 years ago,” Rodrigue tweeted.

“There is no excuse for these tweets and the sentiment behind them. I am deeply sorry and apologize.”