What do Regina Jackson and Deion Sanders have in common? It’s not their careers—it’s the fact that both have children in the NFL and represent the epitome of proud, supportive Black parents. Yet, not everyone sees it that way. Some label them as overbearing or helicopter parents who exert too much control over their kids’ lives.
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Regina, mother of Jayden Daniels, has been fiercely protecting her son’s inner circle and apparently has a strong say in who enters or exits his life. Meanwhile, Coach Prime has played an integral role in shaping the football journeys of his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, acting as both coach and father.
Both parents have poured time, energy, and love into molding their kids for success, and they’re their children’s loudest cheerleaders. But isn’t that what most parents strive to be? So why do Regina and Deion face so much criticism? According to Cam Newton, it all comes down to race. He believes they’re being “unfairly villainized” by the media simply because they’re black.
Newton believes that parents playing an active role in both the professional and personal lives of their children—building them up, guiding their path—is nothing new. It’s been done before. Just look at Archie Manning, who helped shape the careers of Eli and Peyton.
So why is it suddenly a problem now? Cam argues that it’s because the media’s narrative doesn’t align with the image they’ve long pushed about Black parents.
“I don’t think this is nothing new. I think the propaganda of the media has put out an image of black parents as absent. There’s always been some type of connection to villains being created with the parents who want the best for their children.”
Newton pointed to other examples—his father, Cecil Newton, LaVar Ball, Richard Williams—all Black parents who faced media backlash for their deep involvement in their children’s success and whom the media have villainized. According to him, the media often praises white parents for being supportive, but labels Black parents as ‘hovering’ or problematic for the same behavior.
But that’s like a cultural thing. But for black people, it’s been something that’s been looked down upon. There’s that propaganda that the media has always made black parenting somewhat a negative thing, and that’s what I don’t appreciate,” Cam explained.
In Cam’s eyes, Regina standing up for Jayden isn’t unusual—it’s what any loving and protective mother, especially one who’s also his agent, would do. The criticism that she and Deion face, he believes, stems from outdated, racially charged stereotypes about Black parenting—and it’s something he refuses to accept.
Newton gave a shoutout to Regina, Jayden Daniels, and Deion Sanders for doing a commendable job in their respective roles, urging them to keep going the way they are going.
