It saddens me that the mainstream media will always find a way to tear down a Black person – especially a Black man.

If we would stop being naïve for a moment, we would be able to honestly admit that we’ve seen it with pretty much every successful Black person in every arena – sports, business, politics, entertainment, etc.

It never fails and it never stops. As long as these unrelenting mainstream media bullies, who in many cases have access to the bully pulpit of a pen, microphone, camera or computer, are able to unleash their venomous narratives about Black people, it will never stop.

The mischaracterizations, exaggerated narratives and character assassinations are over-the-top in most cases, and they are often able to get away with it because they seemingly have no accountability for their words and actions. They are usually able to say and do what they want, when they want.

Take Carolina Panther star quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton for instance. He is being raked over the coals because of an overly exaggerated response that he had during his post-game press conference this past Sunday, after his Panthers lost 24-10 to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.

If you watch the video and listen to the audio, you see the frustration on Newton’s face and hear it in his voice as well. What many people didn’t hear is the voice of a Denver Broncos player in the back talking about the defensive strategy that they used against Newton, in the same area he was having his press conference.

To my knowledge, and correct me if I’m wrong, having opposing teams hold a press conference in the same area, at the same time, hasn’t been done in the history of the Super Bowl.

Now, the mainstream media is attempting to destroy the character of Cam Newton, on the heels of his remarkable NFL MVP season. Many sports commentators, news reporters, online bloggers, former NFL players and people on social media have piled on Newton and are acting as if he committed a cardinal sin.

Super Bowl 50 is in the books, yet all the mainstream media wants to talk about is Newton’s press conference and their thoughts of how he should have handled himself. How laughable and disturbing.

Malcolm X once said, “Don’t be in such a hurry to condemn a person because he doesn’t do what you do, or think as you think.”

All Newton does is gives away footballs to kids in the stands; dances and dabs when he scores; expresses swag, because he is cool like that; functions with the utmost confidence on and off the field, because he believes in himself; has no off-the-field issues that they can report about; rehabs so hard so he could return from a major car accident to play the game he loves; and then plays so well that he earns an NFL MVP trophy; but, now all-of-a-sudden Newton is not a role model and is cast as a villain by many members of the mainstream because he leaves a press conference early after a crushing loss in the biggest game of his career. Are you serious?

Most of these bullies in the mainstream media are racists, who use their platforms to spew their racist rhetoric and ideologies; most of the time, they seek to mask their racism in the form of eloquent speech.

Take Former NFL football player and current media contributor Bill Romanowski who took to Twitter and said the following:

“You will never last in the NFL with that attitude. The world doesn’t revolve around you, boy!”

Like most racists in the mainstream media or on social media do, he deleted the tweet and then apologized after catching a bunch of heat for his comments.

Of course, African Americans aren’t the only group of people who know that using the term “boy” to describe a Black man is derogatory, so I don’t buy any excuse that Romanowski gave for using it.

Here you have a guy in Romanowski, who played in the NFL, and was fined for breaking the jaw of former quarterback Kerry Collins; spitting in the face of an African American opposing player on the football field; crushing a teammate’s eye socket and having to pay for it; he admitted to using steroids; and was accused by a former teammate of using the N-word. Romanowski vehemently denied using the N-word, although Sports Illustrated who published the story about these racist allegations has always stood by their source; now considering this recent tweet, one has to wonder if it was true after all.

After all of that, Romanowski’s White privilege gives him the right in his mind and the boldness to openly challenge the character of a Black man, in Newton, who did nothing but walk out of a press conference in a way that he and others felt wasn’t to their liking.

Now, just think about that for a moment and think about the platform people like Romanowski have via the mainstream media to share their racist thoughts to millions of people across the globe.

Let me just say this – I will not join in, nor allow the mainstream media to tear down my brother Cam Newton with their weapons of choice, without using my own weapons to fight back – not on my watch.

I will not allow the mainstream media to create some narrative about Cam Newton that seeks to focus on his actions at a press conference, in a relentless attempt to overshadow his magnificent season, as well as seek to cheapen his stellar career – not on my watch.

I will not allow the mainstream media to treat Cam Newton differently than they did Peyton Manning when he ran off the field and refused to congratulate or shake the hand of New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees after they beat his Indianapolis Colts team 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV. He was given a pass and at the time, Chris Chase of Yahoo Sports, wrote that Manning just “wanted to win the game.”

What makes Cam Newton any different than Manning; I mean, other than his Black skin and physical superiority? Why has the mainstream media chosen to make this incident, larger than the Super Bowl itself? You know the answer to that and you know why – it is because Cam Newton is a Black man.

While you are worried about Cam Newton walking out of a press conference, can those same mainstream media trolls tell me where we are on the HGH investigation concerning Peyton Manning? Or is that not worthy of the same blistering news coverage that Cam Newton walking out of a press conference is receiving?

Cam Newton is the reigning NFL MVP and if the mainstream media feels like he should have acted better and responded differently, I submit that they should take their own advice as it relates to their craft, when it comes to the treatment of African Americans via their various mainstream media outlets.

Once again, Cam Newton has been a class act since he entered the NFL and he shouldn’t be treated like a world-class villain because of his personality and charisma. That is always how Black people are stereotyped and treated in nearly every facet of this country. It needs to stop and until it does, I stand with Cam Newton and refuse to allow the mainstream media to publicly lynch him in the mainstream media without addressing it and calling people out who do it – not on my watch.

Jeffrey L. Boney serves as Associate Editor and is an award-winning journalist for the Houston Forward Times newspaper. Jeffrey is a frequent contributor on the Nancy Grace Show and has a daily radio talk show called Real Talk with Jeffrey L. Boney. He is a Next Generation Project Fellow, dynamic, international speaker, experienced entrepreneur, business development strategist and Founder/CEO of the Texas Business Alliance. If you would like to request Jeffrey as a speaker, you can reach him at jboney1@forwardtimes.com