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Jason Whitlock: Cam Newton's Football Camp Brawl Proves He's Not a Leader

Jason Whitlock: “Two grown men who used to coach with Cam Newton attacked Cam Newton. I’m not saying that there’s no kernels of truth in what Shannon Sharpe is saying as it relates to kids being disrespectful, but that’s a reflection of us. I can’t point a finger at kids and not be pointing the finger at myself and the older generation. Have we discipled them properly? Have we directed them towards genuine leaders and a genuine leadership model? We haven’t because grown men like Cam Newton and the men that he is fighting with in public - they’re feeding off OUR energy.
This is a group of grown men failing young people and that is really what is going on here. Anything we see about young people that we don’t like -- blame us, blame our generation. When you start talking about ‘HEY, LOOK AT THIS GENERATION OF KIDS, THEY’RE NOT AS RESPECTFUL AS THE PREVIOUS GENERATION!’... At some point as men, we have to say ‘have we shown these kids the respect that will encourage them and lead them to be respectful of others?’
When you have three and four baby mommas, YOU'VE been disrespectful to kids. Any kids you’re having that you don’t plan to be in the home and an in-home parent to, or you don’t plan on marrying the momma, you’ve already done the first disrespect. Kids are just a reflection of our lack of respect for them. ‘Baby Momma Culture’ -- Cam has got two or three different baby mommas, all from out of the strip club – he's put the disrespect in the air. This whole culture, this whole mindset of ‘you can just have kids willy-nilly, indiscriminately, live someplace else, have two or three homes you’re trying to take care of, kids spread out all over Atlanta' or wherever – we've disrespected the kids. No wonder they're disrespectful to us.
This was ignited by a group of men who don’t have respect for each other, who are participating in a culture that breeds a lack of respect. Cam Newton’s whole persona from the ‘HEY, LOOK AT ME!’ hat; he’s not carrying himself in a way that says ‘Hey, I’m a coach, I’m a leader, I’m the most responsible person here, I’m the wealthiest person here, I have the most to lose, I’m going to dial back my energy, and I’m going to adopt the persona, the attitude, and the behaviors of a leader.’ There is far more required of a leader than just being a player. Cam doesn’t understand that.
God blessed them [star athletes] with so much talent that they don’t have to learn the details, they don’t have to learn any humility, they don’t have to play their position. Everybody is out of position. Deion has elected himself a ‘leader’. He’s never been a leader, he’s been a great performer, not a leader. There’s nothing wrong with being a great performer. Michael Jordan, greatest performer ever, but I don’t think he would make a very good coach or leader. I don’t think he was a great leader with the Chicago Bulls, he was a tremendous performer. Phil Jackson coached the team and led the team.
All this ‘let’s put the most talented guy in leadership positions’... If Cam Newton was really about the kids and really understood what he’s capable of, go ahead and finance the 7-on-7 team, and then pay a real leader to LEAD that team. Get your need for attention out of it, and remove yourself from the spotlight. Take the damn hat off and stop drawing attention to yourself, and hand that leadership job over to someone who actually wants to do it.” 

Jason Whitlock of Blaze TV’s Fearless discussed the shocking recent footage of NFL free agent quarterback Cam Newton involved in an ugly brawl with opposing coaches at a youth football camp Newton was coaching at. 

Newton is seen in the video fending off an attack by group of coaches and players who had allegedly taken exception to ‘trash-talk’ during the tournament that set the table for the viral attack.  

Despite it appearing as if Newton was defending himself in the melee, Whitlock says he’s not absolving Newton from any blame for the skirmish, saying he’s not surprised that Newton would put himself in the situation, and lamenting his lack of leadership skills coupled with his pompous demeanor as the real culprits behind the incident.

Check out the segment above as Whitlock says that ‘respect is two-way street', and that Newton doesn’t have the ‘humility’ or ‘stoic manner’ that it takes to be a coach on any level, and thus we shouldn’t be surprised that opposing coaches wanted to punch back to Newton’s arrogance.

Here was Whitlock's full take:

 "I'm not surprised two opposing coaches who previously worked with Newton attacked the former NFL star. Cam has the persona of a diva wide receiver. He loves to talk trash to the opposition, including to kids. When a coach, even a multi-millionaire coach, exudes an in-your-face attitude, it should come as no surprise that someone got in Cam's face. He invites it. Respect is a two-way street. Cam doesn't respect the position he holds in the sports world. He never has. He wanted to reinvent the quarterback position and what leadership at that position looks like. It worked until the moment it quit working. It quit working long before Newton's talent fully diminished. At 34, he's out of the game prematurely. He's reinventing himself as a podcaster and 7-on-7 coach. Podcasting fits Cam's personality -- he knows how to draw attention to himself. He's clueless about being a coach. Coaches don't talk trash to opponents, coaches lead with humility and a stoic manner that resembles Tom Landry. They're unflappable."

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