Black America is frequently caught at the center of the “inclusion versus identity” debate— look no further than #OscarsSoWhite and Stacey Dash’s recent remarks. Black America loves it’s sports though, and just like every other red-blooded American, football ranks near the top of its list. Incidentally, football has served as a microcosm for racism against African-Americans.
Quarterback — the position that is believed to most align traits such as intelligence and leadership — has historically been dominated by whites, in part due to institutional racism. In short, black quarterbacks have had to jump numerous hurdles just to receive the tutelage, opportunity, and opportunity to fail that are inherent with whites quarterbacks. These hurdles have stunted the growth of black QBs on the whole, as consistency in playing time and performance has been elusive for this group.
Sure, there’s been success stories. Warren Moon is in the Hall of Fame. The late Steve McNair won an MVP. Michael Vick was the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft. Vince Young won a National Championship in college. Doug Williams and Russell Wilson both won Super Bowls as starters. All of these men however, and a host of others, were unable to fully capture the imagination of Black America. Then Cameron Newton burst onto the scene in 2015.
Already a household name amongst football fans, Cam Newton ascended to heights few thought possible this season. A newly crowned league MVP, Cam has not only galvanized the Carolina Panthers, he’s united an entire region while instilling levels of pride in African-Americans like no QB has ever done before. Cam Newton, his story, his rise, and his flair embody the Black experience.
He’s young, he’s cool, he’s handsome, and although he was frequently ripped for his “Superman” celebration for years on shows like PTI, Newton unapologetically gets his boogie on at every opportunity. It’s rubbed some the wrong way (to various degrees of idiocy), but Cam’s dance fever isn’t in vein or at the expense of his team’s performance. To look at Newton and see a conceited showboat who isn’t concerned with winning would not be looking closely enough. Newton’s Panthers are 22-3 in their last 25 games going back to the 2014 season, thus challenging the theory that once got Billy Hoyle in trouble back in the day. And that’s worth a dab on em.
Newton wins, and he looks good while doing it— the showmanship is a given, the smile has drawn comparisons to a young Magic Johnson. While many women find him appealing, Newton being in a relationship with (and recently having a child by) a black woman has actually enhanced his stock like a 4.3 40. Black women love a black man, but more than that, they love a black man who loves black women. A large number of African-American athletes elect to date outside their race, which is fine if it works for them, but it won’t endear them to African-American women the same way.
This is what sets the Atlanta native apart from many of his contemporaries. Much like his propensity to turn up in the endzone, Cam Newton is also unapologetically black. After defeating the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship Game, Cam said of his Panthers’ season, “It wasn’t going to be instant grits. It was going to be like long, slow-cooked collard greens. I think those collard greens are brewing right now. You can smell them from 100 miles away.”
He spends his leisure time sitting courtside at Hornets games. He recognizes his place within hip-hop culture (hence Cam making the Dab famous), and he hobnobs with rappers when he’s not stunting between the white lines. Recently, he was asked why he tends to be a lightning rod for judgement when compared to other athletes. Newton’s posture stiffened, and he delivered an equally honest and self-aware response:
“I’m an African-American quarterback that may scare a lot of people because they haven’t seen nothing that they can compare me to. I’m doing exactly what I want to do how I want to do it, and I’m true to my roots.”
That sound you hear is Black America breaking into a standing ovation from coast to coast. However, it doesn’t stop there. Since his arrival in Charlotte, a thriving black market, Cam has made it his duty to give back to the community, particularly to African-Americans in the area.
Be it more light-hearted acts (relatively speaking) like feeding children on Thanksgiving, or more serious matters like visiting the families of the Charleston shooting victims, Cam has been remarkably visible in the Carolina community. His philanthropic efforts are the stuff of legend, which is crucial to his image within the black community. Black men in a privileged position have an obligation to leverage their situation to help other black people, specifically children.
Sidebar: Privileged doesn’t necessarily mean rich and famous athletes. Whether you have a steady job, if you’re involved in the church, if you’re a college graduate, anyone who is doing something positive with their lives can serve as a mentor to others. Our Black kids need this more now than ever before.
Cam is fully aware of the influence he has on the youth, and if he doesn’t, the fact that he started the tradition of giving every football the Panthers score a TD with to a kid in the stands is a hell of a coincidence. It’s reasonable to think this awareness could be a byproduct of Cam repeatedly being humbled at various points in his career.
During his stint backing up Tim Tebow at Florida, Newton was arrested on three felony counts in an incident surrounding stolen laptops. The charges were ultimately dropped, but the public disgrace, coupled with the lack of playing time forced him to transfer to Blinn Junior College in Texas, but not before he picked up a National Championship with the Gators. The following season he would lead Blinn to the NJCAA National Championship, earning Juco All-America honorable mention along the way. The 6’5″ 245 pounder would transfer once more, this time back into the SEC, to Auburn University. Despite facing swirling allegations that his father was selling his son’s services to the highest bidding university (which his pops later admitted as only a ploy to take the heat off his son), Cam scooped up an SEC Championship, an SEC Offensive Player of the Year Award, the Heisman Trophy and a National Championship in 2011.
If Jeezy & Future are rocking with Cam, then basically every Black male ages 18-40 are too.
Within the next 12 months, Cam would become the top pick in the NFL Draft and would win Rookie of the Year. But in the the years following, onlookers were still critical of his postgame demeanor after losses. His leadership abilities were called into question nearly as much as his character was as a student-athlete. Then on December 9, 2014, Newton would suffer two broken bones in his back after his car flipped over multiple times on a downtown Charlotte highway.
Not only would Cam only miss a single game, the car wreck marked the beginning of the Panthers’ resurgence. Clearly, there’s a pattern here: some players are labeled as “winners”— winning seems to follow Cam Newton. He’ll need that resolve now more than ever before.
On Sunday, Newton was dealt his largest slice of humble pie to date. Despite being a heavy favorite going in, Newton played poorly as his Panthers lost the Super Bowl to the Broncos 24-10. After the game, all the sizzle and swagger that made him an overnight sensation had withered away, as he sat sullenly slumped over barely able to answer a handful of questions from the media. Cam detractors used this as Exhibit A of his inability to lead a team; what we saw was a large segment Black America, without hesitation, throwing themselves in front of the hate train. In the eyes of Black America, Cam’s uniqueness as both a personality and a player already overshadows any controversy.
Your father might not care for the elaborate celebrations and the in-game sideline photo ops, but he can’t help respect the way Cam will plow through the other team’s biggest and baddest linebacker on 3rd and 1. Killa Cam is the catalyst for the smash-mouth identity the Panthers rode to a 17-2 record. Much like his personality, he’s a force of nature on the field, and he forces any football purest to respect his style of play. Although he was never the most accurate on intermediate throws, Newton has developed into one of the NFL’s best deep ball passers, to go along with his prolific running ability. Cam Newton is the dual-threat quarterback Black America has wanted to hang it’s hat on for years.
Just how dangerous is Newton, the player? Rich Eisen explains how Newton’s assertion that we “haven’t seen nothing we can compare him to” is as accurate as his bombs to Ted Ginn Jr:
African-American quarterbacks are frequently driven into a discussion where fans attempt to quantify their “blackness”. While this conversion is irresponsible at its very least and dripping in Willie Lynch Theory at its worst, “blackness” is a real thing. This is where Cam has exceeded every other black quarterback before him.
Warren Moon was as gifted a passer as anyone, but wasn’t much of a mobile threat and didn’t possess one drop of the charisma Newton does. It seemed like Mike Vick had it all, but he ran in the wrong circles off the field (in essence, he couldn’t leave the hood alone) which is how he ended up doing 18 months in a federal penitentiary during his prime. Vince Young looked like the real deal coming out of college, but VY wasn’t mentally and emotionally stable enough to handle being “the man”. RG3 had the juice for a moment, but was too concerned with his personal brand, which impacted his ability to lead (that, and he didn’t have the frame to hold up physically). Colin Kaepernick was this close to being that dude, but hasn’t worked hard enough to clean up his deficiencies. Russell Wilson has the team success, but doesn’t appear as quick to embrace Black culture.
Newton doesn’t have any of these issues. What he has is a swag (sorry) that permeates his locker room, a heart of gold that forces him to make his imprint on the community, and a plethora of career accomplishments he acquired while defying a laundry list of adverse (and head-scratching) situations. He even has a little dirt on him, which makes him appear more authentic.
Sidebar: Now he’s getting Gatorade, headphone and yogurt money, which hip-hop culture will always remind you is a “major key”.
Cam Newton is “YGB” personified (young, gifted & black for those not hip). Today though, his career faces its toughest test: an offseason full of second-guessing and Super Bowl buyer’s remorse from those who purchased Cam stock over the last few months. He’s not without flaw— the way he handled the Broncos loss in its immediate aftermath is something that cannot and should not be defended by anyone, especially Black America. Still, Newton is on the cusp of claiming his first championship as a professional, hypothetically giving him each of the major career accomplishments Vick, McNair, Young and Wilson claimed individually all by himself. The only thing left would be a place in Canton next to Moon.
Because of his actions after Super Bowl 50, America’s deck is stacked against him. Although history tells us that Cam Newton will once again bounce back— the embodiment of the Black experience.
