Cam Newton has been the focus of plenty of criticism since being drafted in 2011. It was said that he wasn’t a leader, he was immature, he couldn’t throw from the pocket or read defenses and that he would never amount to anything in the NFL because he was too cocky and arrogant. Being a North Carolina resident, I’ve seen a lot of Cam Newton over the past 5 seasons and his growth is unbelievable. After losing his best wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin before the season started, no one expected Cam and the Panthers to finish the regular season with a 15-1 record, land the number 1 seed in the NFC and take his team to Super Bowl 50.
Cam is has done everything but win the league’s MVP, which his is expected to win this season and according to BleacherReport, Cam feels he scares critics because he’s black.
“I’ve said it since Day One, I’m an African-American quarterback. That may scare a lot of people because they haven’t seen nothing that they can compare me to. Oftentimes, it’s funny, I get inspired, it makes me go out there and practice even harder because I remember when I was working out for the draft and I would see the Senior Bowl playing, I see these guys out there busting their tails, trying to get drafted, trying to have a job to provide for their family or themselves and it’s like, here I am, I’m doing exactly what I want to do, how I want to do it.”
One of the things I like most about Cam is that he does it his way. Although unique, nothing about his style is disrespectful but is raises the eyebrows of many because it’s something different. His teammates love his personality and it’s evident that they have become more and more like him. I’ve never seen a team have as more fun playing football as this current Panthers team which is centered around Cam.
At the end of the day anything Cam Newton does will receive criticism. It will also be magnified because he’s a star athlete as well as a black quarterback. If people are going to hate on you regardless, you might as well enjoy doing it your way which is why I respect Cam. I have no clue if he will be about to lead the Panthers to a Super Bowl win but no matter the outcome, someone will have something negative to say about him.