FLOWERY BRANCH – Cecil Newton, the father of Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, went on the Tom Joyner Morning show, a national syndicated radio show which airs locally on KISS 104.1, on Friday.
He discussed the upcoming Super Bowl, his son’s car accident, how both black and white parents want greatness for their kids, his parenting style and where Cam Newton gets his sense of style from.
Here's what the elder Newton, who's the Bishop at the Holy Zion Center of Deliverance church in Newnan, had to say:
Joyner: On his bandwagon being shipped to San Francisco.
Newton: "Boy that's a wonderful thing. I never really thought I saw this day coming this soon Tom, but God is good. We're glad to be a part of it."
Joyner: Your son is going to make Black History.
Newton: "He already has to a great degree. I just pray that he continues to operate prudently with the gifts that he has and the people that he has influence over.
Joyner: On how Newton and his wife (Jackie) prepared Cam for this moment.
Newton: "Well, that goes back to when he was six, seven and eight years old. We just tried to instill in him character values. But live life to the fullest and have fun. Always respect others opinions, but work hard for what you get. And don't expect something for nothing type of philosophy."
Joyner: Was he dabbing in school?
Newton: "Are you kidding me. We dab. I go to the type of church, if the spirit is moving, let go and let God (takeover). I'm going to say something about the public's opinion of Cam and his dancing and his celebrations. I just had to take time and reflect a couple of days ago. I can recall and it's on Cam's instragram page somewhere, I'm not all that social media active, but ….Cam's life came inches away from being extracted from him. So, when you base that on what possibly could have happened, but by the grace of God and people praying he walked away from that accident and ultimately could have ended it all. So, basically being concerned with him celebrating is trivial compared to what some people have to suffer, cancer, you know, paralysis and stuff like that."
Sybill Wilkes: He has a powerful testimony.
“Yes, of course.”
Sybil Wilkes: On Newton's advice on raising kids.
Newton: "I have three sons. I have an older son Cecil Jr. He's a graduate of TSU, Tennessee State. He had a four-year stint in the NFL. I have a younger son that attends Grady High of Atlanta, Georgia. Not just Cam. Often time society wants to make you irrelevant primarily because you have a public figure, a high profile son. I love all of my sons equally. I just tell all parents to stay the course. Be patient. Allow them to grow at the rate that …you can't pour into them (more than) they can contain and society, in my era, our teaching tools, our parenting skills (were) somewhat different from what they are now. I never really pushed Cam in to professional sports. He had to adapt to this and want to absorb what I was trying to give to him. I gave it to him in measures that I felt he could contain.
(Newton then goes on to talk about youth sports.)
“I see sometimes that people get kind of overdrawn because a little seven-year-old misses a layup. A 12-year-old misses a layup. You scar kids a lot of times emotionally because they don’t understand or they feel bad because they feel they disappointed their parents. We all want the greatness for our kids. I’m sure. Most of America’s parents do. Black or white, on both sides of the aisle. But in all sensibility in scolding him and choking him off, so to speak, because he didn’t get the touchdown or he didn’t run fast enough…I mean come on parents. Let’s all go back to when we were nine, 10 or 11 years old.”
Joyner: Cam's fashion style, who does he get it from?
Newton: "You know what, Tom? I'm going to tell you … but you know what it is."
Sybil Wilkes: So, from the First Lady?
Newton: "My wife has a vast assortment of shoes. So, I'm going to give footwear to my wife. All those spiked shoes that Cam wears, is strictly from his mother."
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