Cam Newton addressed the media on Thursday and confirmed the reason he did not start last Sunday’s game. According to ESPN, Newton said the reason for his benching was in fact a wardrobe violation and not rumors that he missed curfew because he was at the club.
Many football analysts in the media have taken to their respective platforms to speculate as to the “real” reason why Newton was benched. Missing curfew was a popular consensus and it fed the narrative that Cam is a selfish player and thinks he is above the team. Newton addressed that on Thursday, saying:
At no point in time — or even still — do I think I’m above the law. I never thought that. I’m not that type of player.
Cam has had to shake the selfish rap his entire NFL career, and it’s mostly unfair. Now, the early issues in college were of Cam’s own making while at Florida and Auburn. But, those were mistakes of someone in their late teens and early 20s. The league is littered with many players that have made mistakes in college and somehow we find a way to look past them. (See your favorite quarterbacking family. Look up incidents at Ole Miss and Tennessee.)
The main issue Cam is dealing with right now is his subpar play and the team’s lack of success. Newton is the defending MVP and he has played nothing like that this year. Part of that is Newton, but it’s also the team constructed around him. Newton played other worldly last season and masked a lot of the Panthers issues. The team didn’t do much to upgrade or improve the roster and he isn’t playing to the same standard and this season’s record is the result. Plus, the injury bug has hit this team hard.
So if you already don’t like Cam, this benching incident coupled with his subpar play and the team’s worse play is all the ammunition needed. As far as the wardrobe, remember to pack a few ties next time Cam.