Cam Newton isn't sure why he said what he said.
Some Eagles can't understand it, either.
Newton on Wednesday was in national headlines for all the wrong reasons when he made a sexist remark to a female reporter. Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer asked the Panthers' QB about wide receiver Devin Funchess' route running, eliciting a smile and laugh from Newton.
"It's funny to hear a female talk about routes," Newton said before answering the question. "It's funny."
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Eagles defensive end Chris Long didn't see the joke.
"Somebody like Cam is entitled to his opinion, but I don't think it's a very good one because at the end of the day, there are a lot of people that didn't play the game that have an opportunity to commentate on it and break it down regardless of their gender," Long said Thursday. "There are a lot of really qualified women in our business. … I don't want to put thoughts in Cam's head or words in his mouth, but I'm sure he probably regrets it."
It appears he does.
Newton issued an apology in a video posted on his Twitter account Thursday night.
"After careful thought, I understand that my word choice was extremely degrading and disrespectful to women," he said. "To be honest, that was not my intentions. And if you are a person who took offense to what I said, I sincerely apologize to you."
pic.twitter.com/Rwxzcu883T— Cameron Newton (@CameronNewton) October 6, 2017
Newton wasn't the only one expressing remorse. The reporter Rodrigue issued an apology, as well, on Thursday when BlackSportsOnline.com published a story highlighting racist tweets from her account in the past.
pic.twitter.com/D3abYhggyH— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) October 5, 2017
"Whether it be through social media or if it's in the general media, whenever you've got cameras and recorders in front of you, you always want to make sure anything you put out there, you'd be happy to hear a couple weeks later when you play it back," Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said when asked about Newton's remark. "Something you can be proud of and don't feel like you have to go back and apologize or delete."
Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson was short but blunt in his assessment of Newton's comment.
"You can't say anything like that in this day and age," Johnson said. "He's going to pay the price for it … that's my take on it."
