Profootballtalk.com is reporting that Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon is upset about how his advisee Cam Newton is being treated by the media and fans. Speaking with Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com, Moon apparently became angry when talking about Newton's treatment. According to the article, Moon stated:
"A lot of the criticism he's receiving is unfortunate and racially based," Moon told Freeman. "I thought we were all past this. I don't see other quarterbacks in the draft being criticized by the media or fans about their smile or called a phony. He's being held to different standards from white quarterbacks. I thought we were past all this stuff about African-American quarterbacks, but I guess we're not."
Moon added, "Of course there is racism in every walk of society. We've made a lot of progress in this country, but racism is still there. I just thought in the sports arena we were beyond it. I think the way Cam is being treated shows we're not …
"The thing that makes me laugh is the question of can [Newton] come out of the spread offense. Can he run a pro offense? Colt McCoy came out of the spread offense, and very few people raised that issue about him. So did Sam Bradford. Same thing. Very few questions asking if Bradford could run a pro offense. Some of these questions about Cam are more about his intellect. It's blatant racism, some of it."
Freeman challenged Moon's observations referring to criticism of Tim Tebow last year and added that Moon is upset about Newton being portrayed as a phony.
Tim Tebow is not Cam Newton by any stretch of the imagination, and criticism of Tebow was not of the personal nature, like criticism of Cam Newton. People wondered if both quarterbacks could play in the NFL, which is valid, but few claimed that Tebow was insincere and a phony because of his smile. Moon, who was discriminated against by the NFL — going undrafted because of his refusal to switch from the quarterback position because many didn't believe that blacks could or should play quarterback — knows of what he speaks.
Some may argue that Newton's current scrutiny is a holdover from the controversy surrounding his college career, which may be true. The personal attacks speak to something else, and sadly, Moon is well aware of what that means.
Read more at PFT.
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