“font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; line-height: 20px;”>Carolina

Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has asked No. 1 draft pick Cam

Newton to remain tattoo and piercing free.

Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson

has asked No. 1 draft pick Cam Newton to remain tattoo and piercing

free. In their first meeting, Jerry Richardson asked the face of

the franchise whether he had either tattoos or piercings. When

Newton responded “No, sir.” Richardson said he’d like to keep it

that way.

When this news dropped, the only

question that came across our minds was “Why change the tattoo

standards for professional athletes now?”

Many may argue that the NFL is still a

business and the athletes must adhere to the rules of their owners.

That includes dress code. And when you are paying an athlete $22

million over the next four years, he should be less likely to

complain about the restrictions in the workplace. However, why

should his tattoos and piercing even be up for discussion? What

made Richardson even bring that topic up to Newton in the first

place?

We understand a person’s image is

important. When you walk into a doctor’s office, your initial view

of your doctor’s performance plays a factor into rather you think

they are qualified for the job or not. Same rules apply for many

professions in business and education.

However, the fields of athletics are one

of the only places that tattoos are accepted. Their performance

does not have to be measured in their initial

appearance.

A professional athlete’s contributions,

skills, and/or influence are not determined by his or her number of

tattoos and/or piercings. So why outlaw it?

If Newton throws for 200 yards a game

and ends the seasons with 22 touchdowns and a trip to the

play-offs, will we say it is because of his lack of tattoos? Do you

really think the sports world will look down on him if he decides

to get his ears pierced in the near future?

And since public image is the topic of

the day, we wonder if this same standard is being held for all of

the Carolina Panther players’.Perhaps the issue would not be as big

of a deal if Jerry Richardson was more consistent in his selection

process of what players can and cannot have tattoos and

piercings.

It is highly unfair to tell Newton he

can have no tattoos and piercing, yet sign Tight End

Jeremy Shockey to a deal in the off season. For those of you who do

not know who Shockey is, Jeremy Shockey is a white player who is

covered in tattoos.

So the question of “why sign him” if

public image is so important to you? Why hold Newton to this

standard if you’re not going to hold all your players to this same

standard?

Professional athletes are held to

different standards because their jobs do not require them to be

the image we would like for them to be. Yes, Cam Newton is the face

of the franchise. However, why must he be forced into this role? A

professional athletes job is to play his/her sport. That’s

it.

You play a sport your entire life, spend

countless hours in the gym, and win game after game just to make it

to a league that now tells you that your performance is

exceptional, but your appearance does not fit what the face of the

franchise needs to be.

To use money or an owner’s biased

opinion of what a tattoo means to some people, is

ignorant.

Your performance in your work place will

out shine your image in the world of sports. Look at incredible

athletes such as Chris Anderson, Chris Johnson, LeBron James,

Dennis Rodman, David Beckham, Manny Pacquiao, and many others.

These athletes are great at their craft, and handle business on and

off the field. And many of them have tattoos all over their

bodies.

In all honesty, this story seems to be

another sad attempt to make another black athlete conform to what

society wants for him to be. The black face of the franchise needs

to be as clean and smooth around the edges as possible apparently.

According to Jerry Richardson’s request, a black professional

athlete with tons of talent and tons of potential is only

profitable when he can keep his body free of tattoos and

piercings.

You think the owner is doing this for

Newton’s best interest? Well ask yourself what an owner will do to

a player the second that player gets injured or hurt. Trade

discussions begin before that player even gets a chance to get off

the field. So why not go ahead and let him get a tattoo if he wants

one?

We all know this country loves a winner,

regardless of how many tattoos they may or may not have. This is a

poor attempt to use money as a way to justify an owner’s personal

bias against tattoos in an industry where that should not even

matter, especially when that owner ended the season with only two

wins.

A professional athlete who risks his

body day after day, should at least have the option to put a tattoo

or piercing on that body if he/she so desires. And if NFL owners

begin to follow suite on such a ridiculous request, then when and

where will the restrictions on professional athletes

end?

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• Editorial Staff The A&T Register