Monday, September 23, 2013

Congratulations to Brynn Cameron, Balla and Lover Extraordinaire

Brynn Cameron was the former girlfriend of Matt Leinart, the USC quarterback in the middle 00's. They met in class, and bonded because they both had a goofy sense of humor. It didn't hurt that both are attractive people. They broke up, but not before having a baby together. The adorkable New York Times article about it all is here, and the photo below is also from the article.

Six years later, Brynn met another athletic young man. They went out for a while, and lo and behold, Brynn became pregnant again. No big deal, right? A single mother dating 6 years after her first child is hardly irresponsible! And the young man was 24. Surely he knew the basics about birth control, should he have been worried about pregnancy? There's no real story here. Or is there?


Because somehow, between TMZ and The Big Lead comment sections, you'd think Brynn Cameron is a con woman and witch. You'd think she was bewitching wealthy, athletic men, forcing them to have sex with her and stealing their sperm via her magicks just so she can collect child support forever and ever. Because obviously, Matt Leinart and Blake Griffin are sheltered, charmless individuals who had no other sexual options, right? Wrong.

Let's look over the complaints, one by one. First, the charge that Miss Cameron is somehow not attractive. I reply: Scoreboard! She landed two of the most attractive bachelors in LA. How can you claim she's not hot? She's tall, blonde, athletic, and apparently has a fun sense of humor. Many a woman has done just as much with less. Tall blondes might not be your thing, and there's nothing wrong with that, but why question another man's choice?

Second, the idea that Brynn Cameron somehow took advantage of the two men. In a creepy way, I kind of understand where some men are coming from in their complaint. We've all been "that guy" who instead of using common sense, pursued a woman just because she was hot. But since when is it the woman's fault for being attractive? Isn't it the man's fault for lacking self-control or not taking appropriate precautions? Sex is risky by its very nature, which is perhaps why it's so addicting, but I'll leave that logic to smarter folk than I.

Third, the idea that Brynn Cameron is some sort of "jersey chaser" who hunts down athletes. There were SEVEN years between Leinart and Griffin. For all we know, Brynn spent those years not dating at all, or dating polite accountants from San Diego who liked museums. But otherwise, fine, let's imagine the "worst"; Brynn only likes dating men her age with great bodies who have a lot of money. My unscientific survey estimation is that she shares that "fetish" with about...95% of womanity. She happens to have qualities that allow her to live that dream; congratulations to her for winning the genetic and personality lottery. Don't hate the game, right?

Fourth, some commenters have gone so far as to claim that Brynn must be some sort of sexual freak to land the two men. I would link to make my point, but I try to keep the language on here SFW. But...can't we also assume that Brynn has a good understanding of the mind of an athlete? That, being an athlete herself, having a brother who is an NFL player, and also being around athletic men, she knows what they like and how they act? Never underestimate the value of truly understanding a man's culture and mindset.

Finally, it's fair to point out that Brynn Cameron complained that Matt Leinart was not paying her enough in child support. He had wanted to pay her $72000 a year. Which sounds like a lot...until you realize that she was living in LA at the time. In, say, "Buffalo, New York" dollars, that's $50,000 a year. That's not that much, given Leinart's wealth, and that Brynn Cameron was a college graduate who now had to stay at home to look after a baby. Supposedly, Leinart then had to pay her $15000 a month. That's a lot, but it's also only fair to point out that Leinart's first contract was for about 8.5 million a year. According to my conservative calculations, Matt was paying 2.5% of his salary in child support. Most child-support paying dads would think themselves lucky to pay so little, percentage-wise.

Maybe one day the sports world will stop being so misogynistic to women, but that day is not today.