It’s the lead-up to what Americans call Super Sunday – the climax of the American football season, which Americans in their trade mark understated way call the Super Bowl. The event on February 7th decides which team becomes the World Champions, even though no other nation has ever supplied a competing team.
I suppose one should expect no less from a country that unilaterally stripped Muhammad Ali of his world, yes WORLD title. I still cannot fathom how the rest of the world, most of which cared not one jot who was conscripted to fight in Vietnam, allowed that to happen.
Anyway, the pre-amble to the Super Bowl is meant to be all happiness and cordiality – and endless press conferences. And it was at one of these that Carolina Panthers quarterback and most valuable player this season, Cam Newton, surprised many people when he interrupted the party atmosphere by saying that race played a factor in how he was perceived as a quarterback.
However, having stirred up that particular hornets’ nest when America least wanted it stirred, he then, in an interview session with members of the news media on Tuesday, declared the subject closed, at least as far as he was concerned.
“I don’t even want to touch on the subject of black quarterbacks because I believe this game is bigger than black, white or even green,” Newton said in San Jose, California. “We limit ourselves when we label ourselves.”
When Newton was challenged by some reporters to support his earlier assertion, he became somewhat defiant.
“I wanted to bring awareness of that, but I don’t think I should be labelled as just as a black quarterback because there are bigger things in this sport that need to be accomplished,” he said.
While the questioning was more confrontational than a typical pre-Super Bowl news conference, Newton stayed in good spirits and addressed criticism directed at him and his teammates for their on-field celebrations, pointing out that an average NFL play lasts four to six seconds, and that people should pay more attention to those stretches of time than to celebrations.
“We have a lot of character and charisma and personality in the locker room, but the big picture everyone should be talking about is those four to six seconds,” Newton said.
I suppose one should expect no less from a country that unilaterally stripped Muhammad Ali of his world, yes WORLD title. I still cannot fathom how the rest of the world, most of which cared not one jot who was conscripted to fight in Vietnam, allowed that to happen.
Anyway, the pre-amble to the Super Bowl is meant to be all happiness and cordiality – and endless press conferences. And it was at one of these that Carolina Panthers quarterback and most valuable player this season, Cam Newton, surprised many people when he interrupted the party atmosphere by saying that race played a factor in how he was perceived as a quarterback.
However, having stirred up that particular hornets’ nest when America least wanted it stirred, he then, in an interview session with members of the news media on Tuesday, declared the subject closed, at least as far as he was concerned.
“I don’t even want to touch on the subject of black quarterbacks because I believe this game is bigger than black, white or even green,” Newton said in San Jose, California. “We limit ourselves when we label ourselves.”
When Newton was challenged by some reporters to support his earlier assertion, he became somewhat defiant.
“I wanted to bring awareness of that, but I don’t think I should be labelled as just as a black quarterback because there are bigger things in this sport that need to be accomplished,” he said.
While the questioning was more confrontational than a typical pre-Super Bowl news conference, Newton stayed in good spirits and addressed criticism directed at him and his teammates for their on-field celebrations, pointing out that an average NFL play lasts four to six seconds, and that people should pay more attention to those stretches of time than to celebrations.
“We have a lot of character and charisma and personality in the locker room, but the big picture everyone should be talking about is those four to six seconds,” Newton said.
