His offseason projects focused on his 7-on-7 football tournament and charity kickball tournament. Newton didn’t talk much about diversity when he first entered the league. “We just want to attack that age because the earlier we can get them, it’s that happy medium where you can touch on subjects that are somewhat sensitive, but we try to nuke it down so they can digest it." What is this, mom? What is that? Sneakiness. “At that age, you start getting different funny feelings about certain people. “I used the analogy earlier about us all being sponges," Newton said. Newton picked this age because it is a time when many kids begin forming the ideas and opinions they carry into adulthood. ![]() Thirty-two youth, most around age 14, were selected to participate in this year’s program that began with Tuesday’s kickoff and will continue March 30 and 31 with programs that include discussions on issues in today’s society. Just as Newton is unique, so is the program that teaches kids how to better work together, embrace diversity, solve problems and learn how to understand their power in having an impact on social change. It all came together in Un1ted As 1, Newton’s brainchild that has become the centerpiece of his foundation. Jackie Newton can’t say for sure that her son’s punishment is why he dares to be unique in his style today, a style that has been described as brash, boastful and insane, with an occasional faux paus that even the quarterback can’t deny.īut she knows for sure that having to wear church clothes to school had an impact on her son and helped make him an advocate for social activism and diversity. The first time I ever dabbled in knowing or understanding other cultures was in college. “When I looked around at my school in the sixth, seventh grade, all I saw was African-Americans," Newton said. Then the focus returned to Newton’s passion for making today’s youth aware of diversity and everything that surrounds it, things he wasn’t aware of growing up in a predominantly black neighborhood and school in Atlanta. “I know it was a lot of things said, 'Cam's not going to play this year,'" Newton said. Newton gave an almost bashful “it’s all right" reply, then shared his concerns about the shoulder before the arthroscopic procedure started showing positive results that have him more confident than ever that he’ll be ready for the season. Not that the shoulder doesn’t warrant a lot of attention - the moderator of Newton’s Un1ted As 1 kickoff started a Q&A session in front of a group of Charlotte Mecklenburg County middle-school kids by asking what most Carolina fans want to know. Yes, there’s more to Newton’s offseason than rehabbing his right shoulder, which in late January required surgery for the second time in three years. Now Cam Newton is a champion for diversity through his Un1ted As 1 program, which kicked off its second year last week, when Newton recalled the punishment that led to his mantra: “Uniquely you, uniquely me." “It feels like the joke was on me because he ended up liking it," Jackie Newton said. It was his first real experience in what it was like to be different. Having to wear a white, button-down shirt, slacks and dress shoes to school instead of sneakers and jeans made Newton stand out to the point that other kids picked on him. What began as a punishment turned into a life-changing moment for Newton, the Carolina Panthers' 29-year-old quarterback. The future NFL MVP would have to wear church clothes to school. Misbehave in sixth-grade math once more, and there’d be a price to pay after what Jackie Newton called many “undesirable parent-teacher conferences." How Cam Newton's childhood punishment opened his eyes to the worldĬHARLOTTE, N.C. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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