Cam Newton may be changing as a player, but he’s not changing his style.
Newton said Monday that, while he agrees with sharp criticism from former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia regarding Newton’s sartorial choices, Newton won’t be dressing any differently.
“You go into this game with two touchdowns, four interceptions, you threw what? Three more interceptions?” Garcia said after New England’s 33-6 loss, via USA Today. “You get yanked in the second half, there’s nothing good going your way. Why are you dressing like that to bring more attention to yourself? I’d be trying to ask the equipment managers, ‘Put me in your jock-sock cart and sneak me in the back door and I’ll show up on the field and do the best that I can.'”
“You know what’s crazy? I agree with him,” Newton said Monday on WEEI, via USA Today. “And the fact that he’s a former player, he has every right to say that. And until that happens, so be it. But that’s another opinionated theory, and it’s fair to say. I know I come off to so many different people so many different ways, and that’s fine. You know what, he’s exactly right. But I’m not changing the way I dress. I’m sorry. . . .
“I don’t know Jeff, but I would say this: I do certain things because of the culture I’m from. And where I’m from — I don’t know where Jeff is from, and I don’t want to harp on it too long — but let’s just say he’s right.”
Nowadays, most people would look at Newton’s off-field attire and on-field performance and say, “Who cares?” And those who do care, frankly, shouldn’t. At a time when all of us have far better things to worry about, no one should spend a second obsessing about the things other people do when it comes to their personal lives.