After reading Wednesday’s headlining sports story,“NFL owner to Cam Newton: No tattoos, piercings for you,” I was torn between two very different perspectives.
The first, if Jerry Richardson [Carolina Panthers’ owner] had “drafted a Caucasian quarterback”:http://www.thegrio.com/sports/cam-newton-goes-1st-in-nfl-draft-to-panthers.php; he probably wouldn’t have had the same conversation with his #1 overall pick. I seriously doubt that Tennessee Titans’ owner, Bud Adams pulled his first round draft selection, University of Washington quarterback, Jake Locker aside and told him to lose any Metallica t-shirts and black nail polish before reporting to training camp. And my second thought, Richardson is really trying to protect and grow his $22 million investment in the Cam Newton brand.
While wrapping up this internal debate, the conclusion that I reached was although this represents a discriminatory attitude towards the present rap music scene, at the same time, this sound advice is also beneficial to the future and post-career of Newton and any other hip-hop influenced black athlete.
Click here to view a Grio slideshow of the 15 worst celebrity tattoos
It’s not as much of a race issue as it may sound because “piercings and tattoos” do not define the whole African-American culture. Nor is hip-hop totally to blame here, because “piercings and tattoos” are just as much the characteristics of the heavy metal music landscape as well.
Think of Richardson as any other boss in corporate America. He has and will exercise the right to set the standards of his company and will choose to hire only those that uphold the image that he is attempting to project. Richardson is a franchise owner in this country’s most favorite pastime and must satisfy its mainstream audience and advertisers. Perhaps a little hasty and the singling out of his rookie quarterback may be unfair, but Richardson’s comment is not a personal attack on Newton. It’s just a business decision that Richardson thought would be in the best interest of his organization.
As Daryl Smith, former overseas pro hoopster and president of strength and conditioning firm, D-Trained that has Brand Jordan as a client explains, ”[Richardson] owns a team in the Bible belt and understands his core fan base. No one is going to pay you millions of dollars without any terms or conditions.”
It’s to the black athlete’s advantage to abide by the “Richardson rule” because it can prepare them for life off-and-after the football playing field. Newton’s counterparts Tom Brady and Peyton Manning will each make over $10 million in endorsements this year through deals with companies ranging from SmartWater, Oreos, MasterCard, and Audi. And to dispel the belief that in order for a quarterback to find success in the advertising world that he has to be white and own a Super Bowl championship ring, Donovan McNabb has signed lucrative deals with Reebok, Campbell’s Soup, Lincoln Financial, and DirecTV during his playing career.
After calling it quits, a clean-cut quarterback could also easily transition into a cushy front office job, a TV sports analyst post, or a head coaching position. Whether Richardson cares if Newton still has a career in sports once he puts away the pigskin, we’ll never know. But Newton at the very least, will “look the part” and be prepared for life after football, whether it’s within the Carolina Panthers’ organization or not.
The biggest issue is whether the team owners and sports leagues are trying to stifle and control the individualism and self-expression of its athletes. The mandatory NBA Dress Code, which commissioner, David Stern enforced in 2005, forbids players from wearing caps, t-shirts, do-rags, jeans, Timberland boots, and large jewelry; again apparel and accessories typically associated with the hip-hop lifestyle. This mandate was called “racist” and met with much opposition from NBA players of the likes of Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce, and Stephen Jackson. A very vocal Iverson called the ruling “not who I am and doesn’t allow me to express myself.”
Although a valid argument and quite obvious that this code was targeted to the hip-hop community, I think that Kevin Durant has a much more effective strategy that has enabled him to “keep it real” while maintaining a hot commodity on Madison Avenue.
Durant recently revealed that he has tattoos all across his chest and torso, but are purposely placed, so that they are not visible when wearing a jersey. Although almost covered in unexposed body art, Durant has still been the face on ads for Nike, Gatorade, and EA Sports.
Let’s remember that true self-expression doesn’t have to begin or end with any item that can be put on or taken off. To all materialistic athletes, five carat diamond earrings don’t define, the person, who you are. True self-expression is an item that we are born with and comes from the depths of our hearts and souls. There hasn’t been a more self-expressive, individualized, and “dared to be different” athlete in the history of sports than Muhammad Ali and he didn’t have to dye his hair or pierce his tongue to demonstrate it.
