Cam Newton Blames JaMarcus Russell For Making It Hard For Black NFL Quarterbacks to Be Successful

Shots fired.

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Complex Original

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Despite all of the success he's enjoyed during his rookie season in the NFL, we haven't heard a whole hell of a lot from Cam Newton. Part of that is because so many people took shots at him before he even played a single down in the league, so he refused to do many interviews throughout the season. Until now. Recently, he sat down with ESPN The Mag to discuss his success, transitioning to the NFL, and, most notably, his critics. And, in doing so, he took a couple of shots at some of his fellow black quarterbacks who have gone high in the NFL Draft in recent years.

"I can't sit up here and look at it like, oh man, my critics are racist," Newton said. "I blame JaMarcus Russell and, to some degreee, Vince Young. If you have the opportunity to make that kind of money doing something you love to do, why would you screw it up? I'm trying to be a trailblazer. If Baylor's Robert Griffin decides to come out, I want people to say, 'He can be the next Cam Newton,' instead of 'He's gonna be the next JaMarcus Russell.'"

The guy's got a point. There haven't been a ton of black quarterbacks who have been successful in the NFL. And those that have have been overshadowed recently by the shortcomings of Russell, Young, and other high draft picks who never really lived up to their potential. His comments won't earn Cam any new friends, but hey, he's just being honest. And after almost an entire season of silence, that's nice to hear.

[via Black Sports Online]

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