(No) Flag on the Play: Framing Cam Newton’s Penalty Concerns as an Issue of Size, Sportsmanship, and Fairness

Abstract

During a Week 8 post-game press conference in the 2016 season, NFL quarterback Cam Newton explicitly criticized the officiating crew of the game for not calling penalties on late hits that he felt put his safety at risk. This study analyzes the media responses that followed, identifying the evaluations made of Newton’s claim and the arguments media personalities presented in justifying those evaluations. We found the majority of statements provided support, both for Newton’s claims and his right to speak out. However, in both statements of support and dismissal, references to size dominated the discourse, reducing Newton to his physical abilities and perpetuating the brain versus brawn dichotomy, which is applied along racial lines to athletes. We argue reliance on this stereotype allows race to be an implicit factor in assessing athletes but never an explicit topic of discussion. At issue is not only that differences exist in how reporters talk about Black and White athletes, but also that these differences have evolved from racial biases obscured through the use of the stereotype, which we argue functions as a value hierarchy. Further, we argue that the continued use of such stereotypes can have significant impacts on player safety and agency.