After being blasted for his comments about women’s roles earlier this month, Cam Newton released a video to his social media titled “Let Me Explain My Comments” in attempt to push back against claims that he was sexist.
The eight minute video addressed what the free agent quarterback said on Barstool Sports’ “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast last week. During his interview, Newton made degrading comments about women, claiming that being raised in household by his mother, father and grandmother taught him to distinguish between a “woman” and a “bad bitch.”
“Now, a woman for me is, handling your own but knowing how to cater to a man’s needs. Right? And I think a lot of times when you get that aesthetic of: ‘I’m a boss bitch, Imma this, Imma that.’ No, baby. But you can’t cook,” Newton said on the podcast. “You don’t know when to be quiet. You don’t know how to allow a man to lead.”
In his video, Newton repeatedly said that he isn’t sexist and he “knows his heart.” He mentioned numerous times he is a good father to his seven children. However, he doubled down on his comments, refusing to apologize for what he said because society is “sensitive about topics that need to be brought to the forefront.”
The three-time Pro Bowler added that the problem was he didn’t go into enough depth during the interview rather than the comments themselves.
“Not only am I bringing awareness to what the ‘bad bitch’ is. I’m also bringing awareness to what a ‘f–k boy’ is, what a man should be to their kids. To their families. I’ll be the first person to tell you: Did I make a mistake by not going into depth on a certain topic? Yes,” Newton said. “I should have said on top of what I also said and mentioned, that not only should a woman know when to be quiet, a man also should know when to be quiet.
“The whole premise of my tone and how I was talking was this: You can’t expect so much from a person and give so little. No matter if you’re the breadwinner in your family dynamic as a man or you’re the breadwinner in your family dynamic as a woman. You’ve gotta uphold your end of the bargain.”
Newton attempted to clarify that the gist of his comments was that “you can’t expect so much from a person and give so little.” He recognized that his comments upset many fans, but said that he is at peace with the criticism because he stands by the sentiments, just not his lack of “going into depth.”
Despite his refusal to acknowledge what he said as offensive, Newton claimed he “never wanted to demonize or to shrink the woman’s power in America,” but ended the video by saying that he stood by his comments and he didn’t care if others disagreed because that is his preference for women.