I wrote a huge rant that I’ve edited down about a million times, and I’m just going to scrap it because I don’t want to sound preachy and almost everything about this subject has pretty much been said by better writers than me already, and I doubt any of my readers share a different opinion on this. Suffice to say that Cam Newton gets a ludicrous amount of hate that is completely unjustified. Cam Newton has been nothing but an exemplary human being since he came into the league, and anyone who thinks he’s a thug, or immature, or anything like that because he did a little dance is a moron. Instead of talking about that, I’ll try to use a different example.

A few weeks back Kirk Cousins led a big comeback against the Bucs and stomped into the locker room, jacked up on adrenaline, and screamed YOU LIKE THAT? at the cameras. And the sports going public ate that shit up. It became a meme. Kirk started selling shirts. It’s already a running joke and Skins fans will use it for the rest of the season. Opposing fans will use it as a taunt when Kirk screws up. It was a fantastic little candid moment in sports history.

Picture Cam Newton doing it instead of Kirk Cousins.

And for the hell of it, picture Kirk Cousins doing the dance and “taunt” instead of Cam Newton.

The stories would be completely different, wouldn’t they? People would laugh at Kirk dancing and taunting. Cam Newton would be getting crucified for being pumped up after a big win and expressing himself in a boisterous manner (Don’t believe me? Exhibit A: Richard Sherman). Poor Cam. He couldn’t be much better of a person and he’ll never get half the respect of his peers, simply because he dares have personality, and dare I say it, be black. It’s messed up. Cam is the most fun player in the NFL right now. No one looks like they enjoy the game of football more than he does. He’s an absolute joy to watch play football, because he’s one of the few players who really seems to understand that he gets to play a silly game for a living. Football is sport, sport is a game, games are entertainment. Sports are not and should not be serious business. Cam is a marvel for embracing the fun. I love Cam Newton and you should too.