Cam Newton Demonstrates Privilege At ESPN By Disparaging Mothers
Newton has nine children, five with one woman and the rest with others.
ESPN continues to struggle to maintain a primary debate partner for Stephen A. Smith on Mondays during the football season.
The network fired Michael Irvin after a scandal in which he allegedly made sexually suggestive comments to a hotel employee. It chose not to bring back Shannon Sharpe after allegations of rape and sexual assault, during which he admitted to sending vile text messages to his accuser.
This past season, Smith and ESPN elevated Cam Newton. And while Newton is not the subject of any creepy accusations, he has put the network in a challenging position with his crusade against women.
This time, Newton claimed that women "lose value" each time they have a child.
"I just think that the reality to that answer is women’s value get lower the more children that they have. I was having this conversation with one of the mothers of my children and she’s still fine," Newton said on the "It’s Giving" podcast.
"But like I was telling her, I was like, ‘Yo, the guy that you’re dating or will date ain’t willing to love on these five children that you have, that ain’t the guy for you. Because when I came into your life, I was willing to accept you and whatever you had.’"
Newton has nine children, five with one woman and the rest with others. According to his logic, the woman with whom he had five children would be the least valuable of his children’s mothers.
OutKick asked ESPN for comment about Newton’s remarks, considering that he openly disparaged female viewers and sports fans with one or more children. Head of ESPN PR Josh Krulewitz did not respond.
This is hardly the first time Newton has expressed questionable views about women. In 2022, he criticized women who "don’t know when to be quiet."
"Now a woman, for me, is handling your own but knowing how to cater to a man’s needs. Right?" Newton said on a podcast. "And I think a lot of times when you get that aesthetic of like, ‘I’m a boss b----, I’m this, I’m that.’
"No, baby. But you can’t cook. You don’t know when to be quiet. You don’t know how to allow a man to lead."
Anyway, sources say ESPN wants to expand Newton’s role with the company. That’s a particularly interesting decision, considering the network portrays itself as the new leader in women’s equality in sports.
In addition, there’s a level of buffoonery to Newton’s presentation that undermines the network’s credibility – from his clownish wardrobe to faux sophistication.
As he claims, everything he says on air is to "represent the culture." What does that mean? Based on his commentary, it means arguing that Lamar Jackson is not responsible for the Ravens’ losses because football is a team sport. It also means blaming Josh Allen for the Bills’ losses because he is the quarterback.
For reference, he made those arguments for Jackson and against Allen one week apart in January.
Cam Newton speaks onstage at the BET Awards 2025 held at the Peacock Theater. (Photo by Earl Gibson III/Variety via Getty Images)
By all accounts, Newton is another former player trying to use race to elevate his career. Newton has, as Jason Whitlock explains, embraced racial idolatry. And those who embrace racial idolatry rarely face accountability, see Ryan Clark.
In fact, were it not for Newton's race and his comments about race, he likely would not survive his latest comments about mothers. Compare the outrage over Harrison Butker saying motherhood is beautiful to the relative lack of outrage over Newton belittling motherhood.
Newton’s latest comments are more offensive than anything he has said before. He did not just offend mothers, but also sons, daughters, and husbands.
"My wife has given birth seven times and only grows in value in my life," Will Cain Country producer Patrick Hatten commented in response to Newton.
My mother has three children. To us, she is irreplaceable. Mothers are the most important people in society. They are, by definition, the cause of life.
Put bluntly, you cannot take seriously someone who devalues women with children, especially someone who has fathered nine before the age of 36.
Even BET came to realize Newton’s behavior was not worth the investment, canceling his new show this week after just eight episodes. And yet, he is who ESPN chooses to put opposite Stephen A. Smith on one of its most watched broadcasts of the year.
Maybe ESPN should reconsider who it does and does not hire. There is a pattern here.