Cam Newton apologizes for sexist comment to reporter, says he was ‘disrespectful to women’

Over 24 hours after making a sexist remark at his press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Cam Newton has apologized.

On Wednesday, Newton said, “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes,” after the Charlotte Observer’s Jourdan Rodrigue asked a question about Devin Funchess and his route running.

Here’s the video he posted via Twitter:

Newton said in his statement:

“After careful thought, I understand that my word choice was extremely degrading, and disrespectful to women. 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 in my community, and tries to use my platform to inspire others. I take ownership to everything that comes with that. And what I did was extremely unacceptable. I’m a father to two beautiful daughters, and at their age I try to instill in them that they can be anything that they want to be. The fact that during this whole process I’ve already lost sponsors and countless fans, I realize that the joke is really on me. I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this. And to the young people who see this, I hope you learn something from this as well. Don’t be like me, be better than me. To the reporters, the journalists, the moms, supermoms, to the daughters, the sisters, and the women all around the world, I sincerely apologize and hope that you can find the kindness in your heart to forgive me. Thank you.

Newton did not mention Rodrigue, the reporter whom his comment was aimed at, in his apology.

Prior to his apology, Rodrigue issued a statement to the Charlotte Observer:

“This afternoon, I did my job as an NFL beat writer and asked Cam Newton a question about one of his receivers. I was dismayed by his response, which not only belittled me but countless other women before me and beside me who work in similar jobs.

“I sought Mr. Newton out as he left the locker room a few minutes later. He did not apologize for his comments.”

Since his initial remark, it was denounced by the Association of Women in Sports Media, the Pro Football Writers Association, and the Associated Press Editors. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Newton’s comments were “just plain wrong and disrespectful.”

It’s good that Newton apologized. Hopefully he follows through on what he said in the video, and everybody can move on from what turned into a mess.