Newton needs to use platform wisely
NFLMVP shouldn’t damage his brand with foolish acts
Cam Newton has it all wrong on this loser thing.
Sure, losing stinks. Especially when you’re the NFL’s MVP, positioned to make such a difference in the biggest game of your life, and you’re upstaged by the best defense in football.
“Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser,” Newton declared, after having a couple days to process the reaction to his walk-off disaster of a news conference following Super Bowl 50.
No, act like a loser and it adds layers to the perception problem that undermines all that is to be celebrated about the Carolina Panthers’ star quarterback.
Here’s why the logic behind Newton’s it’s-cool-to-be-a-sore-loser shtick is flawed: Winning and losing should not define the person.
Not to suggest that Newton needed to come out after the Super Bowl wearing a smiley face and cracking jokes, but being professional would have been enough.
He can be a dabbing delight when he wins, but a jerk when he loses?
Newton is undoubtedly a fierce competitor and far from perfect. But for much that is given, much is expected. Newton’s leadership may be reflected within his team, but the flip side is that it is also reflected to a world outside of the team, which sees a quarterback leaving his teammates to face the music at a time when the tone from the leader can carry much weight.
Hey, he’s not perfect. Newton likes to fashion himself as Superman, but he’s human.
If Newton’s crisis management moment flows from how he deals with the press after a loss rather than the types of off-the-field issues that have floored others, he’s way ahead of the game.
Yet with his immense, MVP talent and lightning rod presence, Newton is also the NFL’s MSP – Most Scrutinized Player. That comes with the territory when you have one of the highest profiles in the nation’s most popular sport.
Amid the dump-on-Cam debate, though, comes a great opportunity.
Here’s hoping Newton, 26, accepts a golden teaching moment from the Golden Super Bowl’s fallout, and truly realizes that the results of any given game in a team sport pale in comparison to the manner in which you represent yourself.
Memo to Cam: It’s OK to change for the better. Being stubborn is not always the ticket. This grown man, often described as a “big kid,” is the one responsible for his behavior.
What does it say about a man who posts the first public picture of his newborn son on Instagram last week, with the baby flanked by daddy’s MVP and Offensive Player of the Year trophies?
Using the baby as a prop struck me as another sign of how much new daddy needs to grow up.
Newton is a budding pitchman with a Hollywood smile. He can be so charming and engaging. He’s fun to watch as a special player. His joy and emotion on the field come across very well. His ritual of giving away footballs to kids after touchdowns connects.
But he should never forget his GQ brand can be damaged by foolishness.
If you watched the Super Bowl, you know how it went down. A lot of Von Miller in Newton’s face. A lot of DeMarcus Ware chasing Newton from behind. A lot of bad passes byNewton.
People can understand when it’s not your day. It’s a shame, however, that Newton helped fuel the postgame narrative with his unprofessional actions.
He can blame himself for that. And that’s not generational or racial.
No doubt, Newton has had enough lectures from critics to last the rest of his career. The critics often whiff, too, and when biases and double-standards are thrown in, the heat on Newton, an African American, tends to be more intense than it would be for a white superstar.
But knowing that, Newton needs to accept the part of his job that allows him such a great platform and use it wisely.
The privilege of being the face of the NFL, as many project for Newton, comes with some responsibility.
Yet even in the days before the Super Bowl, Newton was snippy about having to attend multiple news conferences. On more than one occasion, he grumbled about having to answer the same questions thrown his way in previous days.
Really? That’s the negative vibe he wanted to put out there?
Pity Cam. There were 30 other NFL quarterbacks who probably would have loved the problem of having to spend an hour at media night, then 30minutes on each of the next three days, hyping the big event — because they had reached the point inplaying in the SuperBowl.
For 50, the NFL issued more than 5,500media credentials, many to outlets who don’t normally cover the league on a daily basis. I’d guess that at least half of the media at, say, Newton’s Wednesday news conference were not at his Tuesday session. So of course there are going to be repetitive questions.
Turns out, Newton was saving his biggest diss for later.
The journey is not over. Newton will have more triumphs and setbacks on the football field.
Now let’s see how much he grows. FOLLOWNFL COLUMNIST JARRETT BELL @JarrettBell for commentary, breaking news and insight