Cam Newton might be a controversial figure in the NFL world, but very few have ever questioned his physical prowess in the game. Built massively at 6’6, the NFL free agent has always been a force to be reckoned with on the field. Nonetheless, his physical acumen was unfortunately on display for the wrong reasons yesterday when the 34-year-old had to fight 1 vs. 6 at the 18 and under 7-on-7 football tourney in Atlanta.
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On Sunday morning, Cam Newton was in Atlanta, attending We Ball Sports’ 7-on-7 football tournament. The youth football tournament, intended to be a platform for budding stars, rewards the winning team with a cash prize of $5000. Newton was present at the tournament supporting his team C1N. His appearance should have also ideally been a massive show of support for other teams, but unfortunately, things couldn’t have turned out to be more opposite.
A few minutes into Newton’s appearance, 4 men from Team TSP [a team playing in the tournament] started attacking Newton, as per Bleacher Report. 2 more joined in and things escalated even further. While normal men would crumble, taking on 2 men on their own, Newton barely dropped a sweat keeping them at bay. His big hat didn’t even fall when he had two of them in a headlock. Luckily for the crew from TSP, event staff and security immediately halted the skirmish and separated Newton away from them.
While no one knows what caused the TSP crew to jump on Newton, one cannot deny that seeing Cam hold them on his own was a sight to behold. But aesthetics aside, Newton getting attacked so is extremely problematic and shouldn’t be glorified. Former Ravens QB Robert Griffin III addressed the same and shared how problematic the actions of the crew were.
Griffin highlighted his discontentment with seeing a fun welfare event go down this ugly road. He called for the communities to hold a united front and leave a better impression of themselves on those who look up to them. He condemned the disrespect received by Newton.
“In all seriousness, I HATE seeing this. Cam Newton nor anyone should ever be disrespected in this way. How can we rise, do better for our communities, and change the narrative when we are attacking each other like this?” Griffin said on a tweet. “Turning a 7 on 7 tournament into a brawl and people leave with the wrong impression of an event meant to bring people together for fun and competition. We have to be better than this. We are better than this.”
Fans in his comments section didn’t shy away from applauding Griffin for his stance and only amplified his sentiments.
Fans Agree With RGIII on “X”; Emmanuel Acho Also Reacts
The first sentiment led by the fans was to express their sympathy for Cam Newton, while others reasoned that Newton deserved some respect from the rookies for his stature and talent. One fan also expressed his frustration with Newton getting undeservingly implicated in this turmoil. Take a look:
The other section of fans, meanwhile, amplified the community part of RGIII’s comments and batted for changes needed in the way society functions and thinks.
While Griffin and others had a serious outlook on the incident, NFL analyst Emmanuel Acho looked at the funny side of the incident. Acho poked fun at the foolishness of the TSP crew by reminding them how Cam made giant NFL linebackers look small during his stint in the NFL. His tweet said,
“Cam Newton made NFL Linebackers look small, so why in the world would you, a mere mortal, ever think fighting Cam Newton is a good idea?”
