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Doug Williams agrees with Cam Newton's comments regarding race
By Jared Dubin | Staff Writer
January 29, 2016 9:17 am ET
It was 28 years ago that Doug Williams became the first African-American quarterback to start in a Super Bowl. Next Sunday, Panthers star Cam Newton will become the sixth.
Newton has become a lightning rod for criticism throughout this season, seemingly because he actually appears to be enjoying himself out on the field. On Wednesday, he spoke about the real reasons behind that criticism. “I'm an African-American quarterback that may scare a lot of people because they haven't seen nothing they can compare me to," Newton said, and it's not difficult to see that he has a point.
Williams, for his part, largely agrees with what Newton said. His comments, via USA Today:
“I'm not going to be the one who says what my thinking is, because sometimes it don't matter what I think. It ain't going to matter what he thinks. Because at the end of the day, you've got a lot of people denying (racism is behind the criticism of Newton), that that's not true. Even if it's true, they're going to deny it.
“I think Cam is mature enough, he knows what he's up against. He knows what he has to deal with. And he's got a daddy, he's got grandparents, he's got older people who've lived in this world long enough to understand why a lot of things happen to certain people. He's got a right to understand that (race) could be one of the problems.”
While there are a lot of people that for some reason have a problem with a great player celebrating his accomplishments on the field (something that happens after almost every single play, no matter who makes it), Williams sees nothing wrong with how Cam goes about the business of commemorating his successes.
“Let's be real.” Williams said. “This kid has had an unbelievable year. He has his own personality. … I don't see anything arrogant about Cam Newton. And I think a lot of people would agree with that. The kid is having fun. Ain't nothing wrong with having fun.
"The team loves him. The fans love him. And the city loves him. At the end of the day, for Cam Newton, that's the most important thing to him.
“I don't think he spends a lot of time with what people think about him if it's not positive. I think what he's shown in Charlotte and a lot of other places is that he's a pretty good kid.''
The Panthers certainly do love him. The fans certainly love him. The city certainly loves him. And he's done a whole lot of good things off the field with his foundation (including, but not limited to feeding 900 kids on Thanksgiving and winning the Ed Block Courage award for "courage on and off the field"). He's just a great player that also happens to have a whole lot of fun. Why certain people need their QBs to act like robots is beyond me. Like Williams said, ain't nothing wrong with having fun.
By Jared Dubin | Staff Writer
January 29, 2016 9:17 am ET
It was 28 years ago that Doug Williams became the first African-American quarterback to start in a Super Bowl. Next Sunday, Panthers star Cam Newton will become the sixth.
Newton has become a lightning rod for criticism throughout this season, seemingly because he actually appears to be enjoying himself out on the field. On Wednesday, he spoke about the real reasons behind that criticism. “I'm an African-American quarterback that may scare a lot of people because they haven't seen nothing they can compare me to," Newton said, and it's not difficult to see that he has a point.
Williams, for his part, largely agrees with what Newton said. His comments, via USA Today:
“I'm not going to be the one who says what my thinking is, because sometimes it don't matter what I think. It ain't going to matter what he thinks. Because at the end of the day, you've got a lot of people denying (racism is behind the criticism of Newton), that that's not true. Even if it's true, they're going to deny it.
“I think Cam is mature enough, he knows what he's up against. He knows what he has to deal with. And he's got a daddy, he's got grandparents, he's got older people who've lived in this world long enough to understand why a lot of things happen to certain people. He's got a right to understand that (race) could be one of the problems.”
While there are a lot of people that for some reason have a problem with a great player celebrating his accomplishments on the field (something that happens after almost every single play, no matter who makes it), Williams sees nothing wrong with how Cam goes about the business of commemorating his successes.
“Let's be real.” Williams said. “This kid has had an unbelievable year. He has his own personality. … I don't see anything arrogant about Cam Newton. And I think a lot of people would agree with that. The kid is having fun. Ain't nothing wrong with having fun.
"The team loves him. The fans love him. And the city loves him. At the end of the day, for Cam Newton, that's the most important thing to him.
“I don't think he spends a lot of time with what people think about him if it's not positive. I think what he's shown in Charlotte and a lot of other places is that he's a pretty good kid.''
The Panthers certainly do love him. The fans certainly love him. The city certainly loves him. And he's done a whole lot of good things off the field with his foundation (including, but not limited to feeding 900 kids on Thanksgiving and winning the Ed Block Courage award for "courage on and off the field"). He's just a great player that also happens to have a whole lot of fun. Why certain people need their QBs to act like robots is beyond me. Like Williams said, ain't nothing wrong with having fun.