Dannon drops Cam Newton as spokesman after he insulted female reporter

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton didn’t anticipate the backlash when he made a comment to a reporter that it was “funny” to hear a woman talk about passing routes. He definitely didn’t know he’d lose a sponsor over it.

Dannon, a yogurt company, has cut ties with Newton after his comments to Charlotte Observer reporter Jourdan Rodrigue, according to A.J. Perez of USA Today. Newton had done a high-profile ad campaign with Dannon for its Oikos brand of yogurt.

ESPN’s Darren Rovell had a statement from Dannon.

A Dannon spokesman clarified to Rovell that Newton will remain under contract but the company won’t use him.

Newton’s comments drew swift criticism on social media. The NFL and Pro Football Writers of America released statements critical of Newton. Clearly Dannon didn’t think it was in its best interest to continue with a pitchman who was in the middle of such a controversy.

Backlash and criticism wasn’t reserved just for Newton on Thursday. The reporter in the middle of the controversy apologized for tweets she sent a few years back in which racist language was used, which was first reported by Blacksportsonline.com

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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