Over the last few seasons, there has been a ton of backlash around the sons of some legendary superstars following in their father's footsteps. Shedeur Sanders and Bronny James stand out as the two loudest examples, as criticism has run rampant against them for the "nepotism" they received due to their relationships with Deion Sanders and LeBron James, respectively.
But a former NFL MVP believes there is a double standard to that case, pointing to Arch Manning and the Manning family dynasty as a whole to make his point.
Cam Newton has never been one to shy away from tough conversations or to speak his mind. Since stepping away from the NFL, he has been rife with unfiltered thoughts on various subjects and situations.
On "4th & 1" this time around, he tackled the coverage that certain players receive regarding their relationship with their fathers. A problem that he believed extended to the NBA as well as the NFL, Newton explained the reasoning.
"I think leagues are guilty of doing that. They do it indirectly because they want storylines," the Carolina Panthers legend argued. "They try to paint the minority athlete as a person that was resilient to making it or to being successful. But if you really do the math now, any minority athlete has more father figures than they ever had."
But his real problem lay in the coverage not being the same for all second-generation stats entering professional sports. He immediately pointed to the Manning family dynasty as the obvious example.
Newton added, "We don't see the turmoil, or we don't hear anything bad for Archie Manning telling Eli Manning, you ain't going to San Diego to play. We don't hear no issue of Arch Manning's father, who is Cooper Manning, saying and controlling the narrative of his son. That's good parenting."
Eli Manning has since said the decision
not to play for San Diego was his own, adding that Archie initially "didn't like the idea" before ultimately supporting him.
Newton alluded to the situation being related to race, as he pointed to stars like Sanders and James being killed for trying to provide the best opportunity for their child.
"But all of a sudden, we hear nepotism from LeBron James about how he positioned his son to be successful. Oh my goodness. Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders, Deion Sanders and boy, the metrics is a little different," Newton pointed out.
There was a ton of criticism when people believed the Los Angeles Lakers drafted James' firstborn at the tail end of the second round and signed him to a guaranteed contract. Similarly, a lot was made of Sanders' talent and attitude when he was first coming into the NFL.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network .
