Football quarterback Cam Newton recently shared that he believes his locs have blocked him from being signed to the NFL and landing other business deals. The 33-year-old athlete, who is known for his unique sense of style off the field, recently appeared as a guest on the Undefined With Josina Anderson podcast.
During his interview, Newton opened up about why he believes his opportunities have been “hindered” by his hairstyle. “People have hinted towards it and say, ‘Cam, we want you to go back to the 2015 clean cut Cam,’ but that was a different me,” he said. “Like right now where I’m at…it’s really embracing who I am.” He added that he was told his locs, which he debuted in 2018, are “scaring people.”
This, unfortunately, does not come as a shock since Black people, especially women, often face discrimination within their schools and workplace environments. Many have been prevented from participating in high school graduations and forced to cut out their protective style in the middle of a sporting event — which is why California and New York passed the C.R.O.W.N. Act. Created in 2019, the law aims to “ensure protection against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles by extending statutory protection to hair texture and protective styles such as braids, locs, twists, and knots in the workplace and public schools,” according to the website.
Despite what Newton shared regarding his locs, the father of five explained that he feels content as a free agent. “Where I’m at right now in my life, do I need the NFL? No. Does the NFL need me? Hell no,” he said. “I think that understanding is the reason I’m able to just kind of be fine.”
As Blavity previously reported, the last time Newton stepped onto a football field to play professionally was during his brief return to the North Carolina Panthers halfway through the 2021 season. However, the NFL did not offer him a new contract at the time.
You can watch Newton’s full interview below:
