Jerry Richardson, the owner of the Carolina Panthers asked his number one draft pick, quarterback Cam Newton, to avoid getting any piercings or tattoos.
Newton was asked to not get any tattoos or piercings.
In an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose Richardson spoke about his first meeting with the Panthers future quarterback. “I said, ‘Do you have any tattoos?’” Richardson told Rose. “He said, ‘No, sir. I don’t have any.’ I said, ‘Do you have any piercings?’ He said, ‘No, sir. I don’t have any.’ I said, ‘We want to keep it that way.’”
The host told Richardson that he “sounded like Lombardi” and Richardson replied back, “No, I just sound reasonable to me.”
It’s an interesting request to ask. Richardson has players with tattoos on his team (such as Jeremy Shockey and Steve Smith) but I guess the quarterback is held to a higher standard. Either way, I don’t like it. Newton is 22 years old, if he wants a tattoo he should be able to get a tattoo.
Even though Richardson can’t punish Newton for getting a tattoo, the owner has made it clear that he doesn’t want his quarterback to have any. It reminds me of the New York Yankees “no facial hair” policy. It just doesn’t seem fair to me.
It’s not like tattoo’s hurt a players’ marketability. Most NBA stars, such as LeBron James, are marketable and have tattoos on their bodies. The decision should be left up to the player, not the owner.