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Cam Newton to Reporter: "It's Funny to Hear a Female Talk About Routes.”

Jourdan Rodrigue, the Panthers beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer, was directly disrespected by Carolina's quarterback.
Screen capture via Panthers.com

Just in case there's any doubt about sexism in the workplace—particularly in the locker rooms of professional sports—just bear witness to Cam Newton casually dropping an extremely sexist comment to Jourdan Rodrigue, a Panthers beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer. Newton responded to her question about Devin Funchess's penchant for a particular route, "it's funny to hear a female talk about routes."

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The portion of the interview in question, which you can find a video of here, starts at 6:39.

Rodrigue: "I know you take a lot of pride in seeing your receivers play well,Devin Funchess has seemed to really embrace the physicality of his routes, and getting those extra yards—does that give you a little bit of enjoyment to see them truck-sticking people out there?"

Newton: "It's funny to hear a female talk about routes. [Giant, obnoxious smile] It's funny."

Immediately afterward, when a reporter asked a follow-up question to Rodrigue's that he couldn't hear, Newton addressed that reporter as "sir." The double standard is thick.

Even in a room full of sports writers (who are not always the most progressive lot), you can hear a pin drop at the jaw-dropping sexism that Newton displayed. And the insult was by no means lost on Rodrigue, who took to Twitter immediately afterward:

She then followed up, apparently after talking with Cam Newton and hearing nothing good afterward.

Rodrigue, according to her LinkedIn, has been in the sports journalism business since graduating Arizona State with a masters in journalism and mass communication and has been a beat reporter for Penn State football. Cam Newton has been in the professional football business only two-and-a-half more years than she has. What's funny is who the real professional is here.

Update 6:43 pm: The Panthers have issued a brief statement saying Newton "expressed regret" to Rodrigue. It's unclear if this occurred after the conversation Rodrigue referred to in her tweet.