Cam Newton is responding to being cut from the New England Patriots. While fans were in shock to hear of Newton’s release, the athlete doesn’t appear to be harboring any hard feelings.
Shortly after the news broke, the football player took to his Instagram Stories, where he wrote, “I really appreciate all the love and support during this time but I must say… PLEASE DON’T FEEL SORRY FOR ME !! #IMGOOD.” He added, “One finger. One pinky. One thumb. -1ove.”
The team announced it had released the three-time Pro Bowl player, granting Jones the opportunity to be the week starter. This comes as a hard blow to the 32-year-old, whose longevity in the game has come under discussion far more often than not
Shortly before the shocking news, television talk show host Scott Zolak walked back the critiques he made about the former New England Patriots star and his appreciation for hip- hop music while on the football field. Last week, the Patriots radio broadcaster came under fire for saying rap music was “distracting” to the Black star quarterback during the team’s training camp.
During 98.5’s “The Sports Hub” pregame show before the final preseason game between the Patriots and the New York Giants, the former Patriots athlete apologized, admitting that he “didn’t need to make that comment.”
“I was trying to evaluate Cam through the process of his first couple throws, and I blamed music for being a distraction in his preparation in between a couple throws that he had,” the 53-year-old explained, per NESN. “And I referenced the genre of rap that was played. That’s something I know that’s drawn attention for being racially insensitive. I’m sorry for that comment. I didn’t need to make that comment.”
He continued, “I should not even ever bring any sort of music into play, because I have no clue what’s going on in a player’s head. It’s been a rough last couple days here, and I wanted to do this on air. It’s the first time I’ve been on air since Thursday; Friday was an off-day, we traveled down here (Saturday), and I didn’t want to do a call-in or anything like that. Chris (Gasper), I’m sorry if my comments offended you personally. … I’m passionate about this team, the position. Playing the position, that’s basically the only position I watch, really, in practice.”
Zolak also said he spoke to Newton directly, stating the Atlanta native was “nothing but class,” however, he did not further elaborate on their discussion. “Great guy. He handled it perfect. I mean, that’s between me and him. So that’s where I stand by it,” he added.
Zolak faced backlash after suggesting to “turn off the rap music first of all, because I think it’s distracting for Cam” during a live broadcast of the “Zo and Bertrand” show from the Patriots practice on Aug. 26. Many football fans found his commentary to be quite controversial, and some even deemed it racist. Furthermore, Zolak’s comparison of Newton to newly drafted quarterback Mac Jones, who is white, did not help either. “He [Cam] can’t help himself to where Mac [Jones] looks like he came to work again like he’s here to work, and everything is attention to detail,” he added.
