The joke is not on 25-year-old sports reporter, Jourdan Rodrigue, it is on the quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, Cam Newton. Last week, during a press conference, Newton was asked a professional question by female reporter Jourdan Rodrigue from the Charlotte Observer.

How he responded was not so professional.

Newton answered the reporter in a degrading manner saying, “It’s funny to hear a female talk about routes, like…it’s funny.” He was seen giving a long, exaggerated smirk and sarcastic laugh.

Later on, Rodrigue waited, found Newton after the press conference and asked him alone why he thought her question was funny. According to Rodrigue, Newton did not even apologize. He did, however, ask whether she had the capability to recognize pass routes.

Newton faced a lot of backlash from the media, sponsors and the NFL. Frankly, he deserved it. Rodrigue said later on Twitter, “I don’t think it’s ‘funny’ to be a female and talk about routes. I think it’s my job.” Many fans rallied behind her, agreeing that Newton’s comment was outright wrong as well as incredibly sexist.

Nearly half of NFL fans are female according to Reuters, so Newton’s misogynistic remark hit home with a lot of people. In light of the controversy, he made an apology video, where he expressed his word choice as “extremely degrading and disrespectful.” He also addressed that he has two daughters, in which he claims to try and encourage the idea that they can be anything they want when they grow up.

That being said, he should not make remarks like these to female reporters if he is trying to instill the idea of equality to his children. It is because sexism has a very prevalent tone in today’s society. In a nation considered progressive, there is still a lot of improvement that needs to be made.

Forty years ago, the strive for women in the sports industry began with reporter Melissa Ludtke, who sued Major League Baseball by claiming her 14th Amendment rights had been violated. In 1977, during the World Series, Ludtke was denied access to the Yankees’ locker room, all because she was a woman. After Ludtke won the case, she changed sports journalism forever. That was 40 years ago, and since then, there has been a movement of women in the sports world.

Newton tried to soften the blow of his comment by saying he was being sarcastic and making a joke, but we do not live in a society where this is considered comical. Women involved in the sports industry are constantly facing the criticisms and hardships of what it is like to operate in a traditionally male kingdom. If the nation wants to strive for equality, it needs to start here. It needs to start in jobs, families, churches, schools and sports. People need to pause when they speak and before they act. What is automatic is not always what is right.

Photo: Keith Allison via flickr