The female sports reporter who implored Cam Newton to apologize for ‘belittling’ her with sexist remarks earlier this week offered her own apology on Thursday as racist tweets she wrote four years ago emerged.
Jourdan Rodrigue, 25, said there was ‘no excuse’ for the 2012 and 2013 tweets in which she used the n-word and revelled in her father’s ‘racist jokes about Navajo land’.
In a Twitter statement, she said: ‘I apologize for the offensive tweets from my Twitter account 4/5 years ago.
‘There is no excuse for them or the sentiment behind them. I am deeply sorry and apologize’.
In the first tweet, Rodrigue, who is a reporter for the Charlotte Observer, said: ‘The earth moves at 450 + mph thats (sic) 10 times triller than nascar dale earnharts a b**** n***a.’
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Jourdan Rodrigue, the female journalist who was ‘belittled’ by NFL star Cam Newton on Wednesday, has apologized for racist tweets she wrote several years ago. One is shown above
In two other tweets, Rodrigue, 25, joked about her father’s ‘racist’ jokes while they drove through ‘Navajo land’
In the second and third, she said: ‘My dad is being super racist as we pass through Navajo land. He’s the best. Racist jokes the whole drive home.’
‘No excuse’: The Charlotte Observer reporter said she was ‘deeply sorry’ for causing offense
Her apology coincided with Newton’s who finally, after being dropped from an endorsement deal with the yogurt company Dannon, said sorry for telling Rodrigue a day earlier: ‘It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes’.
The Carolina Panthers quarterback made the comment at a press conference on Wednesday in front of other reporters.
Rodrigue was outraged by the remark and took to Twitter afterwards to complain.
‘I don’t think it’s funny to talk about routes. I think it’s my job,’ she said.
She claimed to have sought Newton out in the locker room after he made the comments but said he offered no apology for them.
‘This afternoon, I did my job as an NFL beat writer ans asked Cam Newton a question about one of his receivers.
Rodrigue returned to Twitter to share her apology on Thursday night
Her apology coincided with one that NFL quarterback Cameron Newton posted on his own Twitter account. In a heartfelt video, he said he never meant to insult Rodrigue with his comment to her earlier in the week that it was ‘funny’ to ‘hear girls talk about routes’
In his apology, 28-year-old Newton made mention of his two young daughters and asked women ‘around the world’ to forgive him
‘I was dismayed by his response, which not only belittled me but countless other women before me and beside me who work in similar jobs.
‘I sought Mr. Newton out as he left the locker room a few minutes later. He did not apologize for his comments.
The 28-year-old football player resisted mounting public pressure to apologize.
But on Thursday, after being dropped by Dannon, he released a grovelling video and apologized to ‘all the women in the world’.
‘After careful thought, I understand that my word choice was extremely degrading and hurtful to women and to be honest that was not my intentions.
‘If you are a person who took offense to what I said, I sincerely apologize to you.’
He lamented his lost sponsorship deal, saying: ‘The fact that I’ve already lost sponsors and fans, the joke really is on me.’
Dannon was quick to distance itself from the Newton, one of the highest paid players in the NFL who will earn a reported $35million this year, after his comments towards Rodrigue.
‘We are shocked and disheartened at the behavior and comments of Cam Newton towards Jourdan Rodrigue, which we perceive as sexist and disparaging to all women,’ a statement released by company spokesman Michael Neuwirth read.
‘It is entirely inconsistent with our commitment to fostering equality and inclusion in every workplace. It’s simply not ok to belittle anyone based on gender.
On Wednesday, Rodrigue complained on Twitter after Newton brushed off her question at a press conference
‘We have shared our concerns with Cam and will no longer work with him,’ it continued.
The Panthers quarterback recognized his wrongdoing and in the video apology, and reflected on his role as a father to two young daughters who look up to him as a role model.
‘I realize that the joke is really on me… I’ve learned a valuable lesson from this, and to the young people who see this, I hope that you learn something from this as well. Don’t be like me, be better than me.’
Michael Neuwirth, senior director of external communications for Dannon, which makes the Oikos line of Greek yogurt that Newton was paid to endorse before Thursday, confirmed in a Thursday statement the company would no longer be endorsing him.
‘We have shared our concerns with Cam and will no longer work with him,’ read the official statement from Neuwirth.
Newton was dropped by sponsor Dannon which said it could not stand behind his ‘sexist’ remarks
‘We are shocked and disheartened at the behavior and comments of Cam Newton towards Jourdan Rodrigue, which we perceive as sexist and disparaging to all women,’ the spokesman’s statement read.
‘It is entirely inconsistent with our commitment to fostering equality and inclusion in every workplace. It’s simply not ok to belittle anyone based on gender.’
On Thursday, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he wanted to focus on the team’s forthcoming Week 5 game against the Detroit Lions.
Rodrigue, 25, is a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina
‘Cam made a mistake,’ Rivera said. ‘I understand he had a conversation where he pretty much said he shouldn’t have said what he said. As far as I’m concerned, what I’d like to do is talk about getting ready for the Detroit Lions.’
Team spokesman Steven Drummond said he had spoken to both Rodrigue and Newton and insisted the star was remorseful.
‘I have spoken with Jourdan and Cam and I know they had a conversation where he expressed regret for using those words.
‘We strive as a department to make the environment for the media comfortable for everyone covering the team,’ he said.
‘This afternoon, I did my job as NFL beat writer and asked Cam Newton a question about one of his receivers,’ Rodrigue said.
‘I was dismayed by his response, which not only belittled me but countless other women before me and besides me who work in similar jobs.’
‘I sought Mr. Newton out as he left the locker room a few minutes later. He did not apologize for his comments.’
The NFL condemned Newton’s remarks on Wednesday night.
Spokesman Brian McCarthy described them as ‘plain wrong and disrespectful to the exceptional female reporters and journalists who cover our league.’
Newton, who had served as a spokesman for Dannon since January of 2015, has also endorsed Pepsi, Under Armour, and Belk, which is a Charlotte-based retailer.
According to Forbes, Newton was the second highest-paid player in the NFL in 2017 – with earnings of ‘$34.7 million, including $11 million off the field.’