Cam Newton Stuns ESPN Colleagues by Calling Out Fox Sports’ On-Air Silence About Blockbuster Workplace Misconduct Lawsuit

Cam Newton took his First Take colleagues by surprise when he called out Fox Sports on air for not commenting on an recent explosive lawsuit against the rival network.

During Thursday’s episode, the desk was discussing Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews. Since the Ravens’ playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, Andrews — who lost a costly fumble and then dropped a pass that would have tied the game on a 2-point attempt — has yet to speak to the media.

While his colleagues argued that Andrews should face the music and address the media about his poor performance, Newton saw it from a different angle.

“I’m going to go with the unpopular pick, but I want everybody to keep this same energy in other commodities,” Newton said, “in politics, in entertainment, in sports — no matter what it is — and we haven’t been holding people to the same fire. So Mark Andrews, it’s OK, bro. You ain’t gotta talk to nobody because in other networks, there’s lawsuits that’s been out. We ain’t heard nobody say nothing about that.”

A visibly confused Stephen A. Smith asked, “What are you talking about?”

“When there’s a Fox report that comes out, and we haven’t heard anybody speak about anything or make any type of public announcement, nobody has held Fox to that same thing,” Newton continued, “so why are we talking about making a big fuss about Mark Andrews if you’re not going to keep that same energy across the board? That’s what I’m saying.”

First Take host Molly Qerim then jumped in to clarify, explaining that she interpreted Newton’s words as him arguing that no one should be forced to jump in front of a microphone in the immediate aftermath of something major.

In early January, former Fox Sports pundit Skip Bayless — as well as current host Joy Taylor and other prominent figures within the company — were named as defendants in a lawsuit by a former hairstylist. The hairstylist accused the company of sexual harassment and other forms of workplace misconduct. At the time of writing, none of the parties involved have made public statements about the lawsuit.

Watch above via ESPN