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Building A Reputation

A feature article in the Dec. 22, 2013 Washington Post about Cam Newton, the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, offers some lessons about perseverance and overcoming adversity.
 
The article notes that after a remarkable collegiate career and record-breaking rookie season in 2011, Newton had a disappointing season last year, when the Panthers went 7-9 and his performance regressed.  During the offseason Newton changed his approach to focus on improving his fundamentals and adapting to changing defensive schemes.  This year the Panthers are currently in first place in the NFC South division with an 11-4 record. 

The intent of the article is to show that Newton’s off-season self-examination and willingness to change could be a template for Washington’s beleaguered quarterback, Robert Griffin III.  Indeed, all of us should strive to look objectively in the mirror, take stock of where we are and make the necessary changes to get us to where we want to be.

There are a number of facts that are not mentioned in the story that also offer some lessons.  After a notable high-school career, Cam went to the University of Florida, but was suspended for stealing a fellow student’s laptop computer.  He left Florida to play for Blinn College, a junior college in Texas.
 
Cam Newton’s father, Cecil, who has been a large influence on his son, was found by the NCAA of illegally soliciting Mississippi State up to $180,000 in exchange for Cam Newton's athletic service while Cam was at Blinn College, where Cam helped the team win a junior college national title.  According to a 2010 New York Times article, the elder Newton serves as bishop overseeing five small Pentecostal churches in Georgia and is pastor of Holy Zion Center of Deliverance in Newnan, Georgia.

Cam ultimately played for Auburn, but not before the investigation into Cecil Newton’s activities created uncertainty about Cam’s eligibility to play in the NCAA.  The NCAA eventually determined that there was insufficient evidence that Cecil had solicited money from other schools and ruled that Cam was eligible to play---just in time for Auburn’s 2010 SEC championship game against South Carolina.  

In his final collegiate year at Auburn, Newton won the BCS championship and the Heisman trophy as the nation’s best collegiate football player.  The Carolina Panthers then made him the first overall selection in the NFL’s 2011 draft.  He is only the third player ever to win the national championship, the Heisman and be the first pick in the same year.

Yet those accomplishments have always been accompanied by the baggage of Cecil Newton’s attempt to illegally enrich himself by exploiting his son’s football talent.  I’m not going to delve into the travesty of “amateur” big-time collegiate sports, which is a topic unto itself. 

The point I want to make is, Cecil Newton’s decision to try to sell his son’s services in violation of the NCAA’s rules has tarnished his reputation and become indelibly linked to Cam.   And while Cam’s getting thrown out of Florida for theft has probably been forgotten by most people and can be chalked up to mere college foolishness, nonetheless says something about Cam’s character. 

Our lives are a continuum of actions that build a reputation portfolio.  We call that body of work our character.  We all need to build that portfolio with great care.



Copyright © 2013.  All rights reserved.
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