By now you’ve seen the viral video interaction between Cam Newton and a young player at a 7-on-7 football camp.
In that video, the teenager attempted to clown former NFL MVP Cam Newton.
“You’re a free agent. You about to be poor.” jokes the young man.
After exchanging some back and forth banter, Cam asked to speak to his father while the teen repeated his taunts in response.
In the aftermath, differing opinions were voiced. Some NFL players went in on the young man for disrespecting Cam. Others defended the boy after he became a target upon the exchange going viral.
But most interesting is how Cam handled the incident.
Some have criticized Newton for responding “I’m rich” and for not pulling the young man aside to speak with him in private. What we don’t know is how it all started because the video begins with their back and forth verbal altercation. This critique has some merit as Cam is the adult and he should have just pulled him aside either right then and there or later on. But it escalated quickly and the cameras were out so it was hard to restrain matters at that point.
Yet it did not boil over, so Cam should be given credit for where the situation did NOT go.
In the street, that young man might have been hemmed up and on his back for disrespecting a grown man. Yet Cam isn’t about that life when it comes to young people.
He has dedicated and invested his time, energy, and money to support the youth. From giving footballs to young fans and his charitable causes to coaching teams at football camps, Cam continues to be a role model to young men, especially to young Black boys.
Cam originally said, “Let me speak to your Dad.” When that didn’t materialize, things could have gotten ugly and some “act right” could have been administered. But instead of lashing out, Newton simply spoke to him and later posted a video about the situation.
“So instead of speaking or going back and forth with a child, I wanted to have a man to man conversation with his father!” wrote Newton in his Instagram post.
“People often forget as athletes that are often seen on TV — loved by most, hated by some — we are real dads, real friends, real brothers, real sons, real human beings. With that being said, when I attend tournaments all across the country with my all-star team, I have given my time, my energy and my expertise to these kids coming into our program for over 11 years and that is not what people want to hear or even want to see.
“People want to see me arguing with another young man and to see me ‘get in my feelings.’ But the truth is this, I impact kids’ lives in a positive way. Make no mistake about it, I allow kids to realize their ‘out’ by using their football talents to get them to the next level and in most cases out of the hood.”
Fortunately, the situation didn’t go sideways. In the aftermath, the player, Jseth Owens, expressed his regrets and asked for forgiveness on Twitter.
In the end, this is a lesson for young boys to recognize and learn.
Don’t disrespect grown folks, especially those who are trying to do nothing but help. Next time you might not have the good fortune to face someone with the proper home training of Cam Newton.
