Cartoon c/o Legal Insurrection
By Printus LeBlanc
In today’s hyper-sensitive world, a simple observation or sentence can get blown out of proportion and make worldwide news. The advent of social media has allowed the PC police to monitor and act twenty-four hours a day whenever someone’s feelings might be in jeopardy. But what happens one person with a victim card offends someone else with a victim card?
In a recent press conference, Carolina Panthers Quarterback Cam Newton was asked a question by Jourdan Rodrigue, a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer, “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’s response is what caused the PC police to have a heart attack, “That’s funny, to hear a female talk about routes like that. It’s funny.” The PC media pounced. Instantly Newton was branded as a sexist. They never asked him if a female reporter ever questioned him about routes before. They never researched to see if his statement was correct. They didn’t ask him if his comment was meant as an insult, the school of piranhas, known as the PC police, decided it was meant as an insult and they were going to feed.
What are the rules in a social justice world filled with these piranhas? Judging from what just happened to Cam Newton, the African American male is lower on the victimhood scale than a female reporter. What is the hierarchy of the social justice order?
If you didn’t know, Newton is one of the major stars in the NFL. He is often portrayed as one of the young faces of the league and has multiple local and national endorsements. One of the significant endorsements is with the Dannon yogurt company. You would be hard pressed to watch a game on Sunday and not see Newton espousing the taste and health benefits of Dannon products. However, that is getting ready to change.
Dannon yogurt issued the following the statement about Newton’s comments, “We are shocked and disheartened at the behavior and comments of Cam Newton towards Jourdan Rodrigue, which we perceive as sexist and disparaging to all women. It is entirely inconsistent with our commitment to fostering equality and inclusion in every workplace. It’s simply not ok to belittle anyone based on gender. We have shared our concerns with Cam and will no longer work with him.” But wait, Dannon issued no statement on the actions Newton took supporting Colin Kaepernick.
If you don’t know who Kaepernick is, he is the former San Francisco QB that turned down $14 million to play this year. The QB started kneeling for the national anthem as a form of protest stating, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” No word if Kaepernick has decided to protest the hundreds killed and thousands shot in Chicago every year, or if he is advocating for school choice.
Newton often praised Kaepernick’s actions stating, “He’s made the ultimate sacrifice (as a player) and I respect that wholeheartedly. I can’t let a moment go by without shedding light to that: A person that does have the talent to play, a person that should be in this league, but I feel as if he’s not getting his just due because of his views….But that’s a legend, right there. For him to think outside of himself, to raise awareness of something that, this is 365 days removed from his first initial stand, and now here we are doing the same things. And now everybody is kind of understanding what his reasoning was, and I respect that.”
Now the question must be asked, what are the rules?
If sponsors have no problem with disrespecting the national anthem and the police that protect them, why the outrage over what Newton said? The NFL, ESPN, and anyone with a microphone screamed at the top of their lungs, “It’s their First Amendment right” with regards to the players protesting.
Dannon yogurt certainly had no problem with Newton praising a man that wore socks depicting police as pigs. Dannon had no problem with Newton giving the “black power” salute after a touchdown. Why was Newton being asked a surprising question the impetuous to put him in PC jail? Was Newton not exercising his First Amendment right when answering the question? Is Dannon not aware there are female police officers that might have took offense to Newton’s praise of Kaepernick? Dannon has a lot to questions to answer.
Regardless of what you think of Cam Newton, this is another example of social justice piranhas eating one another. They quickly turned on one of their own when there was a perceived slight. Major sponsors turned a blind eye towards INTENTIONAL disparaging actions against the police and the national anthem but drew the line at poor word choice. These piranhas are ruining sports, destroying the advertising business, and making life miserable. Why do we continue to pay attention to them?
Printus LeBlanc is a contributing editor for Americans for Limited Government
