https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=150&v=o8c8BZyfKbg
(Video above: Cam Newton’s post-Super Bowl loss press conference)
Former Auburn University standout and current Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton “dabbed” his way into America’s hearts this year with his infectious personality and MVP performance.
But after losing to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl, it was Newton’s dejected post-game press conference that got all the attention.
“Cam Newton had a dreadful performance in Sunday’s Super Bowl,” Ross Jones of Yahoo Sports wrote Sunday night. “The league’s MVP followed that up with an even uglier showing in his press conference.”
That sentiment was shared by many members of the media, including football legend and Fox Sports analyst Deion Sanders.
You are the face of our brand right now. You can’t do that. I understand the emotions of losing. You can’t do that. A Manning, a Brady, all of those guys who have been prototypical would never do that.
You can’t be dabbin’, smiling, styling and profiling when you win, so this is how you go out when you lose?
Even political commentator Glenn Beck expressed his dismay with Newton’s reaction to the loss.
Cam has obviously not learned how to lose with grace.
I wish I could show my children how to behave after a loss but unfortunately I can’t.
This is not the behavior of someone who lost the game. This is the behavior of a loser.
The debate over how athletes should react to losing is nothing new. In fact, before Manning ended Sunday night’s game victorious, Yahoo Sports wrestled with whether he had been a poor sport in the past.
Peyton Manning(notes) didn’t shake hands with New Orleans Saints players after his Indianapolis Colts lost 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV. Apparently some think this is a sign of poor sportsmanship from the NFL’s greatest player. It’s not.
Walking off the field without congratulating Drew Brees(notes) may go against our misguided notion of what sportsmanship should be, but it wasn’t at all disrespectful or bitter. It shows how much Peyton Manning wanted to win the game. And who can argue about that?
LeBron James was caught up in a similar controversy during the NBA playoffs last year and the same thing that was true then is true now: A perfunctory handshake doesn’t make someone a good sport. It either makes them indifferent to the game’s result or a good actor. What would people have preferred Peyton and LeBron do, laugh off the loss with apathy and treat the victors to dinner after? This isn’t Little League.
Additionally, there is evidence that Newton walked off not because of the questions or because he was upset, but because Denver cornerback Chris Harris was loudly disparaging Newton’s performance in an interview nearby, as the video below shows.
THIS is why Cam walked out (listen to what's being said in the background). pic.twitter.com/6LdLFwv8tj
— Brian (@bmweezy13) February 8, 2016
What do you think Newton’s post-game press conference says about his character, if anything? Let us know by voting in our Twitter poll below.
Was @CameronNewton's Super Bowl press conference evidence that he's a poor sport and a sore loser?
— Yellowhammer (@yhn) February 8, 2016
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