The issue of tatted up athletes is something that I have long wanted to touch upon, but today’s news about the Carolina Panther’s owner asking Cam Newton to refrain from inking himself up gives me a perfect excuse to air my thoughts.
The Issue at Hand
Teams have often had rules about appearance. The Yankees don’t allow long hair which meant that Johnny Damon had to cut off his Jesus-esque locks when he joined the team. The Dodgers used to have similar rules, which then got tossed aside with the acquisition of Manny Ramirez. The main difference between a team rule like the Dodgers and Yankees have, and what the Panthers owner is asking Cam Newton to do is simple. The Panthers don’t have a team rule forbidding tattoos. In fact, their top wide receiver, Steve Smith, has many tattoos.
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The Motive
I don’t know Jerry Richardson (Panthers Owner), nor do I claim to know what is inside of his head. All I know is that he asked Cam Newton not to get any tattoos while he played with the Panthers. Nothing was written down, Cam never signed anything; it was just a simple request. Whether Cam Newton complies with the request is still to be determined, but let’s think about this for a second. Richardson just spent 22 million on Newton, and feels strongly that he will be the face of the franchise. Making the team appear wholesome is likely the motive behind Richardson’s request (which also included no piercings and a lesser request to keep his hair short). Deep down Richardson thinks that fans will think less of Newton and the Panthers if he got tattoos, and while he may be right, that’s not the problem. The problem is that he is paying Cam Newton to play football – that’s it. Sure there are stipulations in the contract that might limit Cam off the field (i.e. no motorcycles, no cliff diving, no chainsaw juggling), but Cam is hired as a football player, not a supermodel. If you want him to remain tattoo free for your franchise, either get him to sign a new contract as a Panthers PR rep, or find a good Photoshop editor.
Taking it to the Extreme
America likes to judge. There I said it. We judge things every single day. Crying Baby? Must be a terrible parent. Panhandler on the off-ramp? Gonna use that money for booze. Woman dressed in a revealing outfit? What a ****. Whether there is any truth to our judgments doesn’t stop us from making them, no matter how serious or harmless our judgments may be. But whether the fans or the public judges somebody about something, isn’t a good enough reason to ask someone not to do it.
Let’s throw this scenario around for a second. What if Richardson had asked Newton not to convert to Islam because he feared it would damage his team’s image? Would it even be a debate anymore as to why Richardson might have made this request, or would Richardson be completely in the wrong, no questions asked?
Owners and coaches constantly offer players advice on their personal lives. Call a cab. Don’t go to shady parties. Be smart. And while all of those pieces of advice are great, they are given because if a player gets mixed up in the wrong situation, they could end up in jail which not only hurts the player’s rep, but hurts the team and the team’s rep as well.
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Back to Reality
Of course, religion is an extreme example, but the concept is still the same. Requesting that a player make personal choices that have no effect on his performance on the field is a bit out of the jurisdiction of a boss. If you showed up to your office job with a full tattoo sleeve, it might actually impact your performance at work. Clients might be off put, customers might make snap judgments and choose to shop elsewhere, but you work in an office, not in the NFL. On any given team I’ll bet that at least ¾ of the players have tattoos. They are a mainstay in sports and are NOT a reason to avoid drafting or signing a player. What if Newton had tattoos already? Would the Panthers have skipped on him? Would Richardson ask that they be removed? No, which is why the request is ludicrous.
Big Deal? Well Now It Is
Let’s pretend for a second that Richardson never went public about his request to Newton, and that Cam showed up in a month with a brand new tattoo – his mom’s initials on his neck. Would any of us have noticed? Would any of us have cared? No. But guess what. Now we will. Now every fan, reporter and photographer will be straining their eyes to see if Cam got any new ink. If he does, he will be asked about it to no end, calling into question his commitment to the team, his career and his reputation. All because of a tattoo. Were any of the other 7 players drafted by the Panthers asked to refrain from tattoos? Nope. Cam is being singled out unfairly because he is the supposed new face of the franchise.
Wrapping Up
Ok, here’s the deal. Yes it is a problem that Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson asked Cam Newton to refrain from getting piercings and tattoos while he was a member of the Carolina Panthers. Are we making a big deal out of it? Of course – I’m writing about it for crying out loud. Will Cam be in the wrong if he gets a tattoo? Only if he agreed not to. The decision is ultimately up to Cam, just like it ultimately would have been up to him if he got a tattoo before any of this huge debacle went down.