*Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was faced with a dilemma while boarding a 10-hour flight from Paris to the U.S., on Friday — his seat was too small for 6-foot-5 frame.
So the NBA star approached a white man on the plane who had a seat with extra leg room, and Newton offered the guy $1,500 to change seats. The man said no.
Now folks on Twitter are debating over whether the man’s refusal to give up his seat was racially motivated.
The bigger question seems to be how does Newton — who is reportedly making $103.8 million on a five-year deal — not have adequate seating to begin with?
Complex also wonders why Cam “decided to take a trip across the Atlantic Ocean dressed in jeans and a fedora?,” the outlet writes.
Watch the moment Cam is rejected via the Twitter video embed below.
OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: Kobe Bryant and Wife Welcome 4th Child … Another Girl! But Her Middle Name is Kobe
Cam Newton offered a white man $1500 to exchange seats with him and the man turned him down. And many people are confused as to why he didn’t take the money. He didn’t take the offer because this was an insult to his WHITENESS. https://t.co/l05ZDAb4cy
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) June 23, 2019
Filmmaker and media personality Tariq Nasheed sparked debate about the clip on Twitter when he posted: “Cam Newton offered a white man $1500 to exchange seats with him and the man turned him down. And many people are confused as to why he didn’t take the money. He didn’t take the offer because this was an insult to his WHITENESS.”
But many disagree with this theory.
One Twitter user replied, “10 hour flight? Nope, I wouldn’t have taken $1500 to give up my seat. I would have bought that seat to be more comfortable and not wanting to give it up would have zero to do with the race of who was offering. Hell, the seat probably cost 4x that.”
Another added, “People don’t understand everybody isn’t pressed for money.”
A third user seemed to agree with Tariq, writing: “I hope cam newton understand the covert message that was sent to him cause had that being Tom Brady he would have been given that seat for free.”
Nasheed then proceeded to break down “the culture of anti-Black animosity when it comes to Black people interacting with other groups on flights/airlines in general.”
See some of the examples he shared below.
“Ppl felt a way in the comments of this tweet I made earlier. They said I was reaching..So lets do an analysis of the general anti-Black animosity that comes with the airline. People in the dominant society have always had an intrinsic anxiety about traveling with Black people,” he wrote.
Would you turn down $1,500 for leg room on a flight?
13. Airlines will often reprimand Black passengers for any minor racially enforced dress code violation……
But we have to sit in front on THIS person, and WE will get kicked off for complaining pic.twitter.com/iG4cuy6JzN
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) June 23, 2019
12. Airlines will eject, and even arrest Black passengers for “sagging pants”, yet these same airlines let white men fly around like THIS, and won’t see any problems with it.
Men like this are allowed to fly, and get bussy stains on airline seats, and no one complains pic.twitter.com/bHIqJrpf2H
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) June 23, 2019
9. Remember last year when a white supremacist went on an anti-Black rant on a flight because he did not want to sit next to a Black woman. And he wasn’t even kicked off the flight, btw. https://t.co/AM7Uw8Y1xh
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) June 23, 2019
10. Earlier this year, a suspected white supremacist female racially antagonized two Black male passengers she had to sit between. And the media tried to spin this into a “fat shaming” narrative. (the media always assists with the denial of racism code) https://t.co/WwiZSwMR88
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) June 23, 2019
8. A couple of months ago, a Black woman was kicked off a plane and arrested because she didn’t want to sit in a seat where someone VOMITED. https://t.co/m4Yezraot1
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) June 23, 2019
7. Notice how you will see multiple cases of white people getting Black people kicked off planes for minor reasons. This stems from the desire to make sure their “whiteness” is in tact while being forced (in their minds)to be near unknown Black ppl. https://t.co/X4T20Sj30p
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) June 23, 2019
6. Many Black people who has flown in 1st class on planes, have experienced the random white person sitting next to them who is hell bent on finding out what the Black person does for a living. (this happens to me almost every time I fly, btw. I have made videos on this)
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) June 23, 2019
14. Now back to Cam Newton. Cam is constantly referred to as an “uppity” Black man, because he moves around confidently on AND off the field. And there is always a desire to put an “uppity Black” in their place. THATS what ppl like about the airline story.
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) June 23, 2019
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!