Any current or former professional athlete will tell you that a successful career requires doing the right thing both on and off the field.
But many athletes have failed to heed this advice getting themselves into serious and often easily preventable off-the-field problems.
And now this former star quarterback went on a violent tirade that left fans at a loss for words.
Cam Newton continues to fall short of expectations
In 2011, the Carolina Panthers selected Auburn quarterback Cam Newton as the first overall pick of that year’s NFL draft.
After winning the Heisman Trophy and leading the Tigers to a National Championship months earlier, many sports analysts had lofty expectations for Newton in the NFL.
He began fulfilling that promise in 2015, winning the league’s MVP award and leading the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 before ultimately falling to Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos.
But after dealing with a lingering shoulder injury for much of 2016 that required offseason surgery, Newton was never the same on the field, and ultimately retired in 2021.
Now, Newton hosts a podcast and runs a 7-on-7 youth football program, which became the site of his latest controversy.
At the recent “We Ball Sports” 7-on-7 tournament in Atlanta last Sunday, video footage showed Newton getting into a violent physical altercation with several other individuals.
Since the event on Sunday, the footage has gone viral all across various social media platforms.
“The video seems to show Newton going at it with several men from TopShelf Performance, which had a team in the event,” The New York Post reported. “The incident started under a tent as several men pushed Newton, whose “C1N” team was also competing in the event, and then the altercation moved behind a tree-covered area where the scuffle continued.
“In another portion of the video, a man in a white shirt comes charging in to throw a heavy punch, though it’s unclear if he made contact with Newton or another one of the men engaged with the former Panthers QB,” The Post added.
Questions still surround this violent encounter, mainly what may have caused the outburst.
Fox News reported that the individuals who were involved in the altercation with Newton were former coaches for his 7-on-7 program, who had gone on to build their own program and subsequently defeated the former NFL QB’s team on multiple occasions, causing Newton to lash out and initiate the altercation.
Although, that is but one side of the story as Newton has yet to respond publicly.
At the end of the day, security guards broke the scuffle, and reports indicated there were no serious injuries.
Newton has a history of controversy on and off the field
Like other talented individuals who are thrust into wealth and fame at an early age, Newton has struggled to uphold a good image over the years due to some of his antics both on and off the field.
During his college career, Newton was suspended from the University of Florida after he stole another student’s laptop and was charged with multiple felonies, leading him to transfer to a junior college before ultimately enrolling at Auburn – albeit, amidst accusations that the school’s boosters illegally paid his family significant sums of money under the table.
And Newton has also come under fire over the years for numerous incidents critics dubbed “misogynist,” such as when he poked fun at a female reporter for asking him a question about wide receiver route concepts, and when he claimed a woman’s top responsibility was “knowing how to cater to a man’s needs.”
Although Cam Newton has hinted at continuing a career in football, no likely landing spots have emerged for the veteran Quarterback, who can not seem to keep himself out of negative headlines such as this one.
US Political Daily will keep you updated on any developments to this ongoing story.
