We Don't Talk Anymore

I blame social media and the people who wallow in it ... for everything, but especially for this ...

Last week Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was being interviewed at a post-game press conference when Charlotte Observer reporter Jordan Rodrigue, a female reporter—and I only use the word ‘female’ because some might think Jordan was a man’s name—asked about wide receiver Devin Funchess embracing the physicality of “routes” and whether Newton got enjoyment out of that.

Don’t ask me about “routes” because to me that only means how I get to and from someplace ... but I digress.

Newton responded like this:

“It's funny to hear a female talk about routes like ... it's funny."

It’s not funny, it’s actually kind of stupid and a little degrading and all sorts of misogynistic to think a woman couldn’t know anything about sports. Do I think he meant it as hurtful? I don’t; I don’t think he was thinking, or maybe he thought he was being cute and playful; he was not.

Rodrigue didn’t like it either; and she says she confronted Newton after the news conference, but he didn’t apologize and so she took her rage to Twitter with this:

“I don't think it's "funny" to be a female and talk about routes. I think it's my job.”

And then, you know, because of social media, the story went viral. And after viral comes a loss of revenue for Cam Newton, because Dannon Oikos Yogurt, for whom Newton had been a spokesman, said they would no longer would him in their commercials and advertisements, and began pulling any ad featuring Newton instantly.

And then Newton apologized, perhaps when his wallet became a target, or perhaps when his wife smacked him upside the head, or perhaps when he saw himself acting like a jerk:

"After careful thought, I understand that my word choice was extremely degrading and disrespectful to women. And to be honest, that was not my intention. If you are a person who took offense to what I said, I sincerely apologize to you. I'm a man who tries to be a positive role model to my community and tries to use my platform to inspire others. I take ownership to everything that comes with that. What I did was extremely unacceptable."

Newton noted that he has two daughters.

"At their age, I try to instill in them that they can do and be anything that they want to be. The fact that during this process I've already lost sponsors and countless fans, I realized that the joke is really on me. And I've learned a valuable lesson from this. 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 apologize and hope that you can find the kindness of your heart to forgive me."

Okay, so he said it ... but couldn’t it have played out differently if people actually spoke to one another rather than taking their anger or frustration to social media to try and gather support for their upset? I mean, I can’t help but think it might have been entirely different had it gone down like this ...

Rodrigue asks, “Cam, I know you take a lot of pride in seeing your receivers play well. Devin Funchess has seemed to really embrace the physicality of his routes and getting those extra yards. Does that give you a little bit of enjoyment to see him kind of truck-sticking people out there?”

Newton replies, “It's funny to hear a female talk about routes like ... it's funny."

Rodrigue, instead of Tweeting, says: “I don't think it's "funny" to be a female and talk about routes. I think it's my job.”

Then maybe Cam Newton could have learned something about how to treat a female reporter rather than losing endorsements or being dragged through the mud via social media; maybe then people wouldn’t have come for Rodrigue with receipts of their own ...

See, after Jordan Rodrigue’s Tweet about Newton people did a wee investigation and found that four or five years ago, she had Tweeted out some racist jokes and thoughts.

December 2012:

“My dad is being super racist as we pass through Navajo land.”

August 2013:

“He’s the best. Racist jokes the whole drive home.”

May 2013, Jordan quoted a Twitter parody account:

“The earth moves at 450+ mph that’s 10 times triller than NASCAR Dale Earnhart’s [sic] a b---- n----”

So it became Jordan Rodrigue’s turn to apologize:

“I apologize for the offensive tweets from my Twitter account 4/5 years ago. There is no excuse for these tweets and the sentiment behind them. I am deeply sorry and apologize.”

And so we have people coming down hard on Newton for his sexist remarks and people coming down hard on Rodrigue for his racist tweets, and yet if Jordan Rodrigue had simply, and quickly, put Cam Newton in his place during that press conference, none of this madness would have followed.

Try talking to one another when you’re angry or annoyed or upset; don’t take your mood to Twitter because then all you’re doing is involving the whole world in a kerfuffle that could have been over in a hot minute if you’d just ... used ... your ... words.

Now, that doesn’t mean Cam Newton  gets off without repercussions, because he’d still be the “man” who made light of a “woman” being a sports reporter, but at least it wouldn’t have gone this far, this wide, this big.

It would have been over.

Use your words, not your social media, m’kay?

I Didn't Say It ....

John Kerry, Secretary of State, on yesterday’s remarks by Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh:

"The United States is deeply troubled by the hateful rhetoric used by President Jammeh in his National Day speech on February 18.  All people are created equal and should be able to live free from discrimination, and that includes discrimination based on sexual identity and sexual orientation. We call on the Government of The Gambia to protect the human rights of all Gambians, and we encourage the international community to send a clear signal that statements of this nature have no place in the public dialogue and are unacceptable. Human rights and fundamental freedoms belong to all individuals. The United States stands by you no matter where you are and no matter who you love."

Jammeh called The Gays ‘vermin’ and said LGBT stand for ‘Leprosy, Gonorrhea, Bacteria and Tuberculosis; all of which are detrimental to human existence’. He’s also said he will decapitate any homosexuals in his country.

Good on Kerry.

Terrell Thomas, cornerback for the New York Giants, thinks the world is ready for gay athletes, but the NFL isn't:

“You just look at what happened this year with the Miami Dolphins' situation. That became something we were being asked about every day in our locker room, and it wasn't even our team. And they're the kinds of questions where you have to think carefully about how you phrase things.”

Oh, so he wants to keep The Gays out of professional sports because he’s worried he’ll have to think before he speaks?

Seriously?

Tony Perkins, FRC wingnut, crying about the marriage equality lawsuits springing up all over America:

"SPLC [Southern Poverty Law Center], which for decades has denied their pro-homosexual bias, is shooting for Alabama's marriage amendment, arguing that the law that defends man-woman unions 'demeans' homosexuals. … If there is a silver lining to the lawsuit, it's that the American people will finally see SPLC for what it is: not neutral, not a third party, and certainly not a credible source of information. Who are they, funded by extreme homosexual activists, to label people who oppose their agenda as 'hate groups?' While the media relies on SPLC as an independent mediator of great public debates, the reality is that they are."

So, wait, let me get this queer: denying marriage to The Gays doesn’t demean them, according to Tony, but allowing The Gays to marry demeans traditional marriage?

And because the SPLC stands up for the rights of The Gays they are homosexual activists?

Huh, I thought it was just about equality.

Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers QB, on Michael Sam and gay players:

"I think when he steps into that locker room, everyone's going to know that he's there to help us win games. And that's why you're in the NFL, to help us win games. No one cares if you're black, white, straight, gay, Christian, Jewish, whatever it may be. When you step on that field you're a member of in my case, the 49ers. Or the Carolina Panthers. That's your job. That's your occupation."

Snap. And that’s all that should matter: can he play? Can he help the team?

Not, hmmm, is he looking at me?

Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers QB on the same topic:

"Absolutely. His job is a linebacker. Colin said it best when he said we don't worry about each other outside of football. Of course we have, 'Are you ok? Is there anything I can help you with?' But we're football players. We're in this organization for one reason and one reason only. And if you're helping us to attain success, your personal life is your personal life."

It’s funny that it’s mostly coaches and management that seem to be worried about The Gays and football.

Most players have the same attitude as Kaepernick and Newton.

Most players.

Ted Cruz, on Obama and marriage equality:

"This administration is the most hostile to traditional marriage administration this country has ever seen. The administration has been using the authority of the federal government to try to force states, to force federal recognition of marriages that state law prohibits. The Obama administration came into Utah and said, ‘We’re not going to listen to what the U.S. Supreme Court said. We, the federal government, are going to recognize marriages in the state of Utah and Utah state law explicitly does not recognize as marriage’ and that was really, in my view, an abuse of power."

Oh Ted, you whiny little puissant.

Two questions

No.1: What exactly is a traditional marriage, because not all opposite-sex marriages are identical?

And B) The federal government wants to recognize all marriages, same-sex and opposite-sex for the purposes of federal benefits, even in Utah, or any state where same-sex marriage is not yet legal.

They aren’t telling Utah the state must accept same-sex marriage.

Quit trying to fear bait people with your lies.

Neil Francis, former Irish Rugby star and sports commentator, also weighs in on Michael Sam:

 “This is a different coming-out than any other. I was in the States, and I was watching Missouri [Sam’s college team] play, before they got to the Cotton Bowl, and I noticed this guy because he was very flamboyant, and y’know, a bit of a showman, and a very good player. No question about that. And I think it was Jimi Hendrix that said, ah, y’know, talking about Janis Joplin’s death, y’know: ‘Great career move’. So, is this - what is the motivation for coming out?”

Um, maybe we come out so we can live our lives openly and honestly, wingnut.

If there wasn’t such a stigma on being gay, especially in professional sports, gay athletes wouldn’t have to come out, they’d be out.

Neil Francis, stepping in it even deeper:

 “You do a survey of the hair-dressing industry and find out how many heterosexuals work in that … Professional sport, by its very nature, doesn’t promote, y’know, sort of, there are a wide range of people who are homosexual, and, that exact, the environment that they’re in isn’t something that they’re interested in … What are their interests? I mean, If you’ve ever sat down with, y’know, homosexual people, and asked them what their interests are, very often they have no interest in any kind of sport. That’s my experience from sitting down with them; I’ve done it on a regular basis.”

Um, have you noticed how many professional athletes have come out after playing, Neil?

That alone proves your argument is ridiculous.

And don’t get me started on how often you um, sit down, with the “homosexual people.” I’d be careful, lest people start thinking you’re one of us.

Francis has since apologized for his remarks saying they don't sound like him.

M'kay ...