Patriots writer gets in Twitter war over Cam Newton ‘bias’
By Jerry Trotta
Patriots reporter Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald was called out on Twitter for supposedly having a “bias” against Cam Newton.
To say that Cam Newton’s lone season with the Patriots prompted predominantly negative reactions among pundits and fans would be an understatement.
That obviously isn’t to say that folks weren’t pulling for him to succeed. His overall performance under center just didn’t warrant consistent praise, regardless of how seamlessly he embraced a leadership role.
We tried to be as objective as possible with our Newton criticism, and we often went to great lengths not to pin the offense’s struggles squarely on his shoulders. That approach (for the most part) resulted in us avoiding getting taken to task by social media trolls who hide behind burner accounts.
Unfortunately for other folks who cover the Patriots, that wasn’t the case. Boston Herald reporter Karen Guregian was called out by a fan for allegedly having a bias against the 31-year-old quarterback and she admirably clapped right back to defend her honor.
I'm really not sure why you think I have a Cam bias. I've written plenty of positive articles. Perhaps you missed those. And this latest one, it was hardly negative. Totally agree about Cam as a runner, but he's one of the worst-rated passers in the NFL. That can't be overlooked.
— Karen Guregian (@kguregian) January 17, 2021
We don’t have to tell you that some people are so twisted that they feel compelled to make other people’s lives miserable, but such is the case on social media in 2021.
There is a distinct difference between consistently criticizing a player who’s in bad form and constantly grasping at straws to slight said player when most would agree it isn’t justified, and that’s clearly the message Guregian was trying to convey in her replies.
I don't believe signing Cam is the answer to the Patriots quarterback issue. The players love him, but if he can't throw the football consistently, it makes no sense to re-sign him. Maybe they will, but in the final analysis, his inability to throw the football hurt the offense.
— Karen Guregian (@kguregian) January 17, 2021
Anybody with two eyes would agree with the notion that the Patriots shouldn’t sign Newton after he seemingly found it impossible to push the ball downfield and beyond the numbers this year, but this so-called fan insisted on trying to flame Guregian for her rock-solid analysis.
Realizing that she was gaining zero ground with this buffoon, however, she ultimately decided to discontinue the dispute.
I'll be happy to send you numerous positive stories I've written about Cam. The New England writers gave him an award after the season, for being a good guy, and always being available. We have a lot of respect for him. But even he said numerous times he needed to play better.
— Karen Guregian (@kguregian) January 17, 2021
Guregian makes (another) great point when she says that Newton was arguably his biggest critic this season. How many times in postgame pressers was he spotted saying that he needed to play better and that his performance didn’t warrant him keeping the starting job?
We would normally advise against giving trolls like this the light of day, but the offensive name-calling and fundamentally erroneous take really gave Guregian no other choice.
If nothing else, let this serve as a valuable lesson on the true vulgarities of social media.
