Schlereth Sounds Off on Newton vs Spieth: Ryan Edwards

Newton vs Spieth

Ryan Edwards

Yesterday, following his collapse at Augusta, might have been one of the toughest days of Jordan Spieth’s 22-year old life. To be on that stage and have the opportunity to win back-to-back at The Master’s is a privilege only a three players (Woods, Nicklaus and Faldo) have known. He could’ve become the youngest player in The Masters era to win three majors and he would’ve been the first to do it with a wire-to-wire lead. Most would’ve understood, after his excruciating collapse at the 12th hole, had he been an emotional mess coming off the 18th hole, making himself unavailable for interviews with the media covering the event. However, that wasn’t the case. Sure, he was upset. There isn’t a competitor alive that wouldn’t recognize the gravity of what had just happened and how he let a chance at glory slip through his fingers. He handled his business like a professional, far beyond his years. He answered the tough questions. He didn’t leave Augusta until 8pm ET after multiple interviews and media scrums. It was impressive to see and simultaneously reminiscent, for some, of another star athlete’s recent interaction with press following the worst loss of his career.

Panthers QB Cam Newton, following the Super Bowl 50 loss to the Broncos, did not handle his business similarly to Spieth. Newton, after begrudgingly answering a short series of questions from the assembled reporters, walked away from his media obligations as an NFL player. Granted, these are considerably different sports and each athlete found themselves, following the loss, speaking to the media under different circumstances. Spieth had one-on-ones with television personalities and stood in front of a scrum of reporters while Newton was placed in the same room with CB Chris Harris Jr. and was forced to listen to the celebration of his opponent while responding to his own questions. That said, as is customary at The Masters, Jordan Spieth was required to place the green jacket on the winner, Danny Willett. That couldn’t have been easy for Spieth under those circumstances, but he handled it like a professional.

At the conclusion of The Masters, our very own Mark Schlereth tweeted a comparison of the two pro-athletes and some advice for the Panthers star quarterback.

I hope Cam Newton is watching Jordan Spieth's interview right now. To be a true professional you have to be able to face the music

— Mark Schlereth (@markschlereth) April 10, 2016

The backlash from Twitter was intense as Mark debated with his followers throughout Sunday afternoon and night. Monday morning, on Schlereth and Evans, Mark was still very passionate about the comparison between Spieth and Newton so he made it his rant on Clear The Air. “Just because you play a professional sport doesn’t necessarily mean you act like a professional,” said Schlereth Monday morning. “You people want to make this a black/white issue. I 100% agree. It is a black/white issue. The black/white issue is you’re either right or your wrong. It is wrong to walk out of your press conference like a big, petulant child.”

He concluded his rant with a plea to sports fans. “Stop making excuses for athletes. I don’t care [if they are] black, white, young, old…it doesn’t matter. There’s a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things.”

The debate continued onto national platforms like ESPN’s First Take with Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith.

There are obvious differences between the athletes and situations but handling yourself like a professional, especially under difficult circumstances, is what unites the two professionals. Sure, there are excuses for Cam Newton’s behavior following the Panthers loss in Super Bowl 50 but just because he didn’t WANT to talk to the media, doesn’t mean it wasn’t important. The access that fans get through media channels to their favorite athletes is really why the NFL is as great as it is. This works for pro-athletes in the best and worst of times. The way an athlete handles the good and bad situations defines their character and endears them to their fan base.

Mark capped off his Clear The Air rant with advice from his father. “Herb Schlereth 101, my father, used to tell me ‘there’s no right way to do something wrong’ and when your responsibility is to talk to the media after the game, you don’t stand up and mope out there like Debbie Downer, for crying out loud.”

Ryan Edwards

@ryanedwards1043

TOP PHOTO CREDIT: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports