After a subpar and unsuccessful follow up to last year’s Super Bowl run, the Carolina Panthers and superstar quarterback Cam Newton will have to watch the playoff drama unfold as the rest of us do: at home.
But all isn’t bad for Cam these days. As his son Chosen recently celebrated his first birthday, Newton dedicated a heartfelt letter to the star of his life.
Posted on The Player’s Tribune, the letter is accompanied by videos and photos of Cam and his family as he dictates his letter to his son who he’s affectionately dubbed “King Cho”. It begins with the phrase, “This promise I tell you.”
Newton utilizes this letter for the purpose of reflection upon his own life, while also hoping to guide Chosen down a brighter path.
“Dont be like me, son, be better than me.”
Cam uses this refrain twice early in his letter as to tell Chosen that his dad may be Superman, but he can be a better version of that. He doesn’t have to become an athlete for his father’s acceptance, entirely lifting any and all pressure off of Chosen’s shoulders before he even comes to the realization that it was there.
What’s most impressive about Cam’s letter is not only his honesty, but also the vulnerability that he displays that most men attempt obstruct with a shroud of a Goliath-like bravado.
He candidly speaks on the disappointment of leaving his son at periods, his failures to Chosen’s mother in the past, and his decisions that he labels as “far from perfect.”
Cam, however, reinforces the fact that “when it comes to you and this family, I will always do what I can. I had to sacrifice some things, and I made it all worth it.”
He almost writes this as if he isn’t here any longer and that this letter will serve as a testament to the person he knows his son can be. From being protective of his mother and sister, to never being afraid of the dark, Chosen is well equipped with the jewels that his father has left him with. Newton closes out the letter in the same fashion in which he started it with, “This promise I tell you.”
