2011 NFL Draft Auburn quarterbacks Auburn Tigers quarterbacks Beastie Boys quotes Cam Newton and race Cam Newton intelligence Cam Newton IQ Cam Newton No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Newton to Panthers Cam Newton wonderlic Cam Newton Wonderlick Cameron Newton intelligence dumb quarterbacks Heisman Trophy winners Smartest quarterback ever What is Cam Newton's IQ?
by Afrobutterfly
2 comments
Cam Newton is smart/dumb as a __________ ?
Possible moron Cam Newton with Commish
“You make the mistake to judge a man by his race, you go through life with egg on your face.” ~ three enlightened white guys
OH SNAP!
Yes, this post is about the intelligence of presumptive overall No. 1 NFL Draft pick Cameron Newton, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and speaker of sentences as: “Our method is ‘simplistic equals fast.’”
Uh oh.
On Tuesday night I threw out a little tester on Twitter, something to the effect of: Saying Cam Newton is dumb as a rock doesn’t make you a racist, it makes you right.
Granted, this wasn’t the most prudent thing to toss off in a permanent log of Congressionally archived record. And, in fact, I really have no idea how intelligent Newton is or what exactly constitutes an intelligent person to begin. My friend Nancy once defined genius, a few drinks in, as the ability to make connections between seemingly disparate thought patterns. Or something to that effect. I don’t really remember.
ANYWAYS, somebody called me out for my tester tweet. He was pissed. And he was – predictably – black. He said the IQ debate surrounding Cam Cam is “classically racist.” Maybe it is. I don’t know.
I do know that if I was basing the long-term trajectory of my franchise (ahem, Carolina Panthers) on a series of interviews and media clips, I’d be scared shitless at the prospect of drafting a guy who cannot describe – as Jon Gruden prompted him to in a feature for ESPN – a single play in basic NFL terminology.
This was not an isolated incident, but does it prove Newton a moron? No. Maybe he’s just not comfortable with the media. Maybe facing a barrage of mics every time he steps out the front door makes him uneasy. As it would make me uneasy. As it would make you uneasy. Maybe Newton has been coached up by all the wrong people, or maybe the media coaching just makes him sound media coached – like a football fan who came to football after the fact, and doesn’t have that innate “I grew up in this” edge.
Maybe Cam conducts quantum physics experiments in a homemade lab behind his house in his spare time. I don’t know. That’s not the point.
The point is this: the question does not seem to be over whether or not Newton is intelligent in the same way Troy Aikman or Tom Brady or Donovan McNabb or Peyton Manning are intelligent. In the end, the only thing that matters is his on-field success.
The relevant question, instead, seems to be whether it’s socially acceptable to question Cam’s intelligence in the first place. So here’s my I-hope-rhetorical retort: would it be better to make said query totally off limits because he’s not white?
Hell no! That strikes me as just as overtly patronizing and downright r-word as the pre-Doug Williams idiocy of “he can’t lead a team. he’s black.”
I’m not going to name a bunch of African American geniuses for you… because that’d be condescending and disparaging. (Note to reader: if anybody ever accuses you of bigotry, rattling off a list of your black friends is not a solid line of defense). Skin plays no part in intelligence. Obviously. Education, money, background, lineage, etc. – these things ultimately influence how you’ll hold up to the incessant grilling of Camp Chucky. Any suggestion to the contrary is terribly ignorant.
So I wouldn’t hire Cam Newton. Not as the face of my franchise. Not to paint my house. But I think a lot of people are dipshits – Cliff Stearns, Andrew Clay, Gary Busey, white guys, black guys, blue guys. The problem is not the measuring of intelligence – it’s the pulling of punches.
Because the punches pulled hurt the most.
I really love when you come in with these comments and basically say the same thing except more concisely/poignantly. The personal experience was a nice touch as well.
I think it’s been really interesting to listen to the analysis on Newton, and I feel like if he was a block-headed white guy, more people would just come out and tell it how it is. (On a side note, I’m a little surprised the “red head” comment about the TCU QB didn’t raise more ire from the ging community…)
Then again, I remember last year when Tebow pretty much bombed the Wonderlic and nobody said a word. If he was African American, would that have gotten more play? Like you say, it’s not the overt racism, it’s the underlying treat-people-slightly-different racism that makes all the difference.
Newton’s race should not be a question at all, just as Mallett’s race shouldn’t be a question. And by the same token, we shouldn’t be afraid assessing the two using the exact same terminology and standards.
And, yes, I’ll be in Miami come September. Hit me up.
I feel like at some point, we just need to spend a weekend drinking in Miami, talking about sports and life, and dumb people. Because in the year that we’ve “known” each other, we’ve agreed on pretty much everything. Including this.
The problem with race is any mention of it is considered racist by someone somewhere. If it’s not blatantly oppressing someone, it’s underlying racism. It’s ridiculous. Where does it end?
Obviously, as a bi-racial person myself, I think about this constantly. I have the luxury of looking white, though, so I really don’t have to deal with a lot of shit I’ve seen my not white mother deal with. So I get all of the backhanded racism concerns. There are definitely a ton out there.
However, I too watched the Gruden QB Camp (by the way, I couldn’t love Gruden any more than I do after watching those) and came away with the same feeling. Last year, I came away super impressed with Tim Tebow. This year, Ryan Mallett scared me but made me think he won’t be a complete disaster. Cam Newton, who I previously loved, made me run for the god damned hills.
I’m not here to question anyone’s level of intelligence (because you correctly state, how would we do that anyways?) but if I were the Panthers, I’d have a really hard time handing the keys to Cammy Cam.
It’s not because he’s black. It’s because he’s kind of dumb.