A larger percentage of NFL fans believe thatCarolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton faces criticism because of his actions on the field than because of his race, according to a survey produced for ESPN by Langer Research Associates and released Wednesday.
Nearly two out of three fans -- 62 percent -- believe that any criticism of Newton is because of his style of play on the field (63 percent of white fans and 38 percent of black fans). Only 14 percent think it's because of his race.
The number of people who think race is part of how Newton is perceived is significantly higher among blacks who responded to the survey -- 34 percent think criticism is racially based, while 38 percent think it's for his flashy style.
Newton, who has talked about race throughout the season, said last week that: "I've said this since day one. I'm an African-American quarterback that scares people because they haven't seen nothing that they can compare me to."
He is the sixth black quarterback to play in the Super Bowl, and this marks the fourth straight year that one of the teams has started a black quarterback. Nonetheless, it has been a continuing line of questioning during media sessions this week.
On Tuesday, Newton told reporters "it's not an issue"when a reporter asked him about the stereotype of black quarterbacks. "It's an issue for you," he said, adding: "I don't even want to touch on the topic of black quarterback, because I think this game is bigger than black, white or even green. So I think we limit ourselves when we just label ourselves just black, this, that and the third."
The survey delved into several other fan perception questions as well. Among them:
The survey of 705 adults was conducted Jan. 30-Feb. 1. It included 493 who considered themselves pro football fans. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5.5 percent.