Overview

• David Newton asked Xavier Legette about his Cowboys fandom and replied, “I take it he won’t be this week,” referring to Legette’s late father during a pregame locker-room availability.
• Newton posted an apology on X, saying he contacted the Panthers and Legette, called it an innocent but hurtful mistake, and expressed respect for the receiver.
• Legette lost his mother to cancer and his father to a heart attack in 2019, a well-known part of his background that made the exchange particularly painful for many observers.
• Critics noted Newton previously profiled Legette and wrote about his parents, questioning how he could forget those details during the brief media interaction.
• A Change.org petition seeking Newton’s removal from the Panthers beat surpassed roughly 1,200 signatures, and no formal ESPN disciplinary action had been reported.