Somehow what was somewhat of a joke of a story yesterday because the whirlwind topic of today. Yesterday we mentioned it was suggestion to Cam Netwon by the Panthers’ owner Jerry Richardson that he remain tat and piercings free. Somehow by Thursday had evolved from that to debate surrounding the culture expectance of deadlocks.

It’s like when you tell someone at a bar “Merry Christmas” and an hour later find yourself knee deep in some conversation about the history of religion. You’re just thinking, “Dear lord, how did I get here? I just wanted to pass on some seasonal joy and watch TV, not head down some C.S. Lewis-eqsue debate trail.

Here’s what happened:

In a recent interview on "The Charlie Rose Show" on PBS, the 75-year-old Richardson recounted a conversation he had with the the 22-year-old Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback on April 4 in which he asked Newton if he had any tattoos or piercings.

When Newton replied "No sir, I don't have any," Richardson told Rose he told the quarterback: "Good. We want to keep it that way." Of course he also said Newton has “a very nice haircut.”

Now I don’t think the Richard meant anything by his comments anymore than I think the old guys who find out I’m not married and tell me to “stay that way” are instructing me to put off dating. (Although I will use that as my excuse for my lack of dates.) But this does spurn the issue of how important it is to understand the weight you take on when you represent something, especially something as large as an NFL franchise.

Perception is reality. Like it or not. How you look is a big part of how your present yourself and how you present yourself, dictates how people feel about you and how they feel about anything you are a part of. It’s why a surgeon who is all inked up with a nose ring is sketchy, but you’ll give a tattoo artist in the same shape all the trust in the world.

It’s also why when a fight broke out at the Oakland-San Francisco game over the weekend, everyone looked at the Raiders fans instead of the Niners’. You think Raider fan, you think Vader mask, Road Warrior shoulder pads, and screaming. You think Niner fan and you think of Danny Tanner. Raider fan worked hard to achieve the image being of the biggest nut job in a room full of crazies. They got it and us pointing the finger at them when something bad happens is the fruit of that labor.

It’s the reason you, nor I, nor anyone else was shocked when “The U” got caught up in all this rogue booster mess. They are “The U.” They wanted to be known for being flashy. They wanted to be known for having swag. Well done and done. But now they are also known for being Nevin Shapiro’s rent-a-friends.

Does Richardson, as an owner, have the right to ask his players to present themselves in a certain way? Most employers do. You don’t see too many lawyers with eyebrow rights. Heck you don’t see many fast food workers with eyebrow rings and lord knows Wendy’s isn’t slapping their cashier’s grill up on the sign.

The Panthers ARE doing that with Cam. Not only is he going to work for the Carolina Panthers, he is going to be the Carolina Panthers.He is going to be the face of that franchise and if Richardson wants that face to be sans nose ring, so be it.