Dannon yogurt announced Thursday that it is dropping Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton as its sponsor for Oikos Greek Yogurt over comments the company deemed “sexist and disparaging” toward women.
“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,” Oikos said in a statement.
“It is entirely inconsistent with our commitment to fostering equality and inclusion in every workplace,” it said. “It’s simply not OK to belittle anyone based on gender. We have shared our concerns with Cam and will no longer work with him.”
Mr. Newton is under fire for comments he made during a press conference Wednesday when he answered a question by Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer.
“I know you take a lot of pride in seeing your receivers play well,” Ms. Rodrigue said. “Devin Funchess has really seemed to embrace the physicality of his routes and getting those extra yards, does that give you a little bit of enjoyment to see him kind of truck-sticking people out there?”
Mr. Newton smiled, responding, “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes, like, it’s funny.”
Carolina spokesman Steven Drummond said in a statement to The Associated Press that Mr. Newton later expressed regret to Ms. Rodrigue over his comments, but Ms. Rodrigue said the quarterback did not apologize.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday night in a statement that Newton’s comments “are just plain wrong and disrespectful to the exceptional female reporters and all journalists who cover our league. They do not reflect the thinking of the league.”
Here’s #leaked audio from the @CameronNewton press conference that the media doesn’t want you to hear. #CamNewton pic.twitter.com/MkgtpolU17
— Ken Webster Jr (@ProducerKen) October 5, 2017
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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