Cam Newton is looking for a girlfriend. And like many jocks before him, he’s having a hard time finding “The One” who loves him just for him and not for limelight that comes along with him.
Got a girlfriend?
“I wish I did,” the magnetic Carolina Panthers quarterback said during a recent sit-down interview with USA TODAY Sports. “I’m looking for one. You got somebody for me?”
Gold-diggers need not apply. Newton, 23, says it has been difficult to find a soul mate because he has sensed many of the women he has encountered are primarily attracted to his money and fame.
And by his own admission, it is not easy to get close the emerging star, whose outstanding play on the field parallels his commercial appeal and buzz factor.
“It’s a cliché for people to say you have to be on alert,” Newton said. “But sometimes, that is the case. You may see a particular female who’s attractive, but you already sense it.
“I pray for discretion every single night, that I can see through people, see what their greater good is. Sometimes that individual ‘wows’ you by the eye, but when it come to heart to heart, that person’s not there for you. That’s not just females. That may be friends, people who come into your life just to use you for who you are.”
Newton, the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year last season after being drafted No. 1 overall, says he enjoys getting out in public (but isn’t big on nightclubs) and does not ever want to get to the point where he is trapped socially by his success.
Yet he is also wary, with a small inner circle.
“Genuine people, at this stage of my life, are very scarce,” Newton said. “That’s unfortunate. Most of the time, I don’t really give people a chance. I have a wall up. I’m always protecting who I am. Thinking about my brand. I make it hard on people. Sometimes, it’s a good thing. Sometimes, it’s a bad thing.”
So it’s not simply that Cam is having trouble finding a girl whose inside is as attractive as her exterior, he’s also having a hard time with the professional friends- male groupies- that line up to bask in the benefits of the association. The balance of being excited that “new” types are stepping to you and the discernment as to who is really interested in you is a delicate one. Jocks often use their elevated status as a carrot but the expectation is to be allowed to eat it once it’s caught right?
Good luck Cam, just consider the bait you use!
