Scott Zolak’s ugly criticisms of Cam Newton for listening to rap music during practice are downright absurd. They also reinforce the age-old notion that Boston is an unwelcoming place for Black athletes.
We just can’t get out of our own way.
On Thursday, Zolak inexplicably ripped Newton’s music taste, and proclivity to dance between throws. “I’d turn off the rap music first of all,” Zolak said. “I think it’s distracting for Cam here. Because in between every throw he’s dancing.”
A few seconds later, Zolak doubled down on his take, ceding any doubt he didn’t mean to say what he actually did. “He makes a throw and then [dances],” Zolak said. "The music’s still cranking here, I know you can hear faintly in the background here.”
To make matters worse, Zolak contrasted Newton with Mac Jones, who the ex-quarterback says brings the right mindset to practice.
In other words: Black quarterback goofs off; white quarterback leads.
“[Jones] is here to work,” Zolak said. “And everything is attention to detail.”
"I'd turn off the rap music first of all, because I think it's distracting for Cam. In-between every throw he's dancing..." -Zo
— ❌❌❌ (@FTBVids_YT) August 26, 2021
Cam can't even listen to rap & dance at practice in peace 😭😔 pic.twitter.com/oGxsTogIVg
Zolak’s ridiculous musings about Newton hit every stereotype that Black quarterbacks face in the NFL: they’re not serious; they’re not smart; they’re unfocused. As someone who’s been around the league for 30 years — both as a player and broadcaster — Zolak should know what he’s inferring when he lambasts Newton for dancing to rap music during practice.
There’s a lot of racial hypocrisy to Zolak’s point, too. We know Jones is a rap music fan himself, because Newton recently told reporters he was impressed with the rookie’s knowledge of the genre.
Oh, and there’s also video of another Patriots quarterback shaking his ass to rap music while stretching. Do you think Zolak ever questioned Tom Brady’s commitment?
Episodes like these are why Boston can’t shed its label as a racist sports town, even as we insist the landscape has changed. This is not ancient history. Within the last five years alone, we’ve had Adam Jones, DeMarcus Cousins and scores of Black baseball players talk about their encounters with racism at Fenway. CC Sabathia says it’s the only place he’s ever been called the N-word; Torii Hunter says he requested a no-trade clause to the Red Sox because of his experiences.
As a white guy who grew up in the leafy suburbs, I have no idea what it’s like to be Black in Boston — and neither do you, unless you’re Black. These are not isolated incidents. There is a pattern here. Everyone is aware of it.
When Kyrie Irving suggested he may face racial taunts in Boston, Kevin Durant backed him up with four words: “The whole world knows.”
And what happened when Irving came to Boston? A fan threw a water bottle in his direction. We can argue how one dumb teenager doesn’t represent an entire city, or explain that Celtics fans loathe Irving because he quit on the team — and not his skin color.
But the other side always has a viable counter. Now, they have another one: Scott Zolak.
