American footballer apologizes for sexist remarks to female reporter

A day after drawing intense criticism for sexist remarks made to a female reporter, Cam Newton, the quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, lost a sponsorship agreement with Dannon.
VIDEO American footballer apologizes for sexist remarks to female reporter
Several hours later, he posted a video to Twitter in which he apologized for his actions.
The controversy for Newton began during a news conference Wednesday, when the reporter, Jourdan Rodrigue of The Charlotte Observer, asked Newton about the route-running of receiver Devin Funchess.
He responded by smiling widely and saying, “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes,” with a strong emphasis on the word “routes.”
Video of the comment was posted to Twitter, and Rodrigue was quick to assert that it was not funny and that it was her job to ask such questions. The N.F.L., the Pro Football Writers of America and The Observer condemned Newton’s remarks as unacceptable.
On Wednesday, Dannon, which has worked with Newton in advertising for its Oikos Greek yogurt, ended its relationship with the 28-year-old quarterback.

“We are shocked and disheartened at the behavior and comments of Cam Newton toward Jourdan Rodrigue, which we perceive as sexist and disparaging to all women,” read a statement by Michael Neuwirth, a senior director of external communications for Dannon. “It is entirely inconsistent with our commitment to fostering equality and inclusion in every workplace. It’s simply not O.K. to belittle anyone based on gender.”
The statement concluded, “We have shared our concerns with Cam and will no longer work with him.”
Newton, who has his own line of Under Armour shoes, has also worked with brands like Gatorade and Beats headphones.
On Thursday evening, Newton posted a video on Twitter addressing his comments during the news conference.
He described his word choice as “degrading and disrespectful to women” and apologized to anyone who took offense, though he did not mention Rodrigue by name.
Newton said that he tries to be a positive role model. “I take ownership to everything that comes with that,” he added. “What I did was extremely unacceptable.
He continued: “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.”
Noting that he is the father of two young daughters, he directed a message to his young fans: “I hope you learn something from this as well. Don’t be like me. Be better than me.”
As has become commonplace during recent controversies, the situation resulted in people digging deep into Rodrigue’s Twitter history, finding a pair of posts from 2012 that referenced her father making racist jokes. Others have pointed out that in 2013 she shared with her followers someone else’s tweet that used a racist term. Rodrigue was a student at Arizona State at the time.
The revelations resulted in Rodrigue issuing an apology of her own. She issued a statement through The Observer that said “There is no excuse for these tweets, and the sentiment behind them. I am deeply sorry.”