Cam Newton’s touchdown dance on Sunday has the world burning with opinions on if Newton’s celebrations are “excessive” and/or “sportsmanlike.”
Some folks believe that players like Newton should be held to a higher standard because they are role models, and his dance “offends people.”
That’s what Rosemary Plorin, a Nashville resident who attended Sunday’s game her nine-year-old daughter, alluded to explaining to her daughter the dab.
After the game, Plorin wrote an open letter to Newton and passed it along to the Charlotte Observer, which published the missive Tuesday morning.
The following are segments of the letter that Plorin wrote to The Observer expressing her disappointment in Newton’s dance.
Dear Mr. Newton,
Congratulations on your win in Nashville today. Our team played well, but yours played better. Kudos to the Panthers organization.
That game happened to be my nine-year-old daughter’s first live NFL experience. …
Because of where we sat, we had a close-up view of your conduct in the fourth quarter. The chest puffs. The pelvic thrusts. The arrogant struts and the “in-your-face” taunting of both the Titans’ players and fans. We saw it all.
But the most important thing is that the “Dab” is dangerous for all children under the age of 13.
My daughter sensed the change immediately and started asking questions: “Won’t he get in trouble for doing that? Is he trying to make people mad? Do you think he knows he looks like a spoiled brat?”
And finally, the crown jewel of her argument falls in line with her telling Newton “what would his family think of his actions?”
I don’t know about your family life Mr. Newton, but I think I’m safe in saying thousands of kids watch you every week. You have amazing talent and an incredible platform to be a role model for them. Unfortunately, what you modeled for them today was egotism, arrogance and poor sportsmanship.
Is that what your coaches and mentors modeled for you, Mr. Newton?
So Newton is being criticized for showing emotion in a game where the players are expected to play with enough passion to be okay with pulverizing each other each Sunday. He was able to score a touchdown to give his team a win, and all anyone can talk about is how he celebrated his successes.
