Cam Newton doesn't get enough credit.

To piggyback on a discussion I heard on a podcast a few days ago, Cam Newton doesn't get enough credit for how good of a citizen/role model he is.

The guy goes out of his way to give a ball to kids on every touchdown he scores, he does extensive charity work in both national/local charities, he's extremely involved with local pediatric hospitals/ community building organizations in Charlotte, and he's never displayed anything but professionalism and character both on and off the football field. That, and he's a top 10 NFL QB.

People don't like him because of the shite that went down with his father back during his college recruiting process, and the only image people choose to focus on is a clip of him saying "it's stil and ongoing investigation", with a sarcastic grin on his face, but he's shown nothing to warrant some of the hate or lack of praise he gets.

In today's NFL, full of Prima Donnas, women beaters, and criminals, we need to acknowledge the opposite when we see it. In addition, when you consider the stuff he did while at Florida, it also shows that people can change for the better and become upstanding people regardless of their past mistakes. That should be recognized and applauded.

And honestly, we all know the unspoken recruiting game. Almost every single power 5 university cheats, but I will never fault a kid for taking advantage of that.

Can anybody honestly say that an athlete taking money from boosters indicates a moral shortcoming? To me that's capitalism, if you have a talent or skill, and there is high demand for that talent or skill. You should be able to seek market value in exchange for your services. That's the system this great nation was built on.

If any of you had a son who was freakishly talented enough to be sought after by boosters from every school in the country, would you honestly tell your son not to take advantage? His father may have been a piece of shite for taking most of the money for himself, but if somebody offered your child $200,000 to play football, would you honestly tell me you wouldn't encourage them to accept it, and then do everything you can to encourage them putting that money in a savings account to help insure a better future for them?