Cam Newton is heavily involved in good works for the community. I know this, you know this, any fan of the Carolina Panthers and most of the regional media know this, but for some reason regardless of the national spotlight constantly cast on him, many people do not recognize it. We reported yesterday that Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks had made some wide reaching comments about differences in how players in the NBA address social activism and community involvement compared to the NFL. Here is the most important tidbit:
"In the NBA, everybody is standing up for it, so the greatest players are in the forefront of the movement. Here in the NFL, the greatest players aren't in the forefront of the movement. Whether it's the CBA, whether it's things going on with trying to change the way -- concussions. The greatest players aren't involved like LeBron James, Chris Paul and all these guys [in the NBA]. Our great players are sitting back just taking the dollars, whether it's Cam Newton, all these guys. They're not really on the forefront of trying to change what's going on."
This morning, various outlets are reporting that Michael Bennett personally called Cam Newton to apologize for singling him out and that that was not his intention. While we do not know exactly what was said, I admire the fact that Bennett did not go to the media and make a public apology, deciding instead to contact Cam personally and make amends. Saving face through the media has become all to common, when I still believe that people would prefer personal contact and man-to-man conversations.
Of course, Michael also might have contacted Cam for different reasons. He is on record as being extremely attracted to the Carolina Panthers as a whole, and while he knows he can't date them, because they are like the cousin that looks like him, and he can't date because of that... he still might like to just call the prettiest of the bunch and breathe heavily into the phone for awhile. Then hang up because he couldn't go through with asking him out.