Cam Newton went viral recently for a little fun altercation that turned momentarily serious. While visiting Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, for the rivalry game between Alabama State and Alabama A&M, the ESPN First Take crew joined in on the festivities, including Newton. But as Ryan Clark described, who was also present, things almost got out of hand between Newton and one of the mascots.
Advertisement
The Alabama A&M mascot had a little too much fun with Newton, it seems. In fact, the former QB ended up slapping the mascot on the head at one point. Although he later insisted that it was all in good fun. But as Clark described, it almost went too far.
To set the stage, the A&M mascot had raced against the Alabama State mascot pre-game. Before the race, Clark and Newton picked who they thought would win. Clark went with A&M, while Newton chose State. Long story short, the State mascot won, but there was more to the story once the race ended.
Clark narrated the behind-the-scenes in a recent episode of his podcast, The Pivot.
“Cam goes to celebrate, so he’s jumping up with the mascot from State, woo woo. And I think the bulldog just wanted to have some fun,” Clark detailed. “So, [themascot] went and he knocked Cam’s hat off. You know, Cam doesn’t get the front of his dreads done, so he wanted to wear the hat.”
Furthermore, Newton is a fashion icon and aficionado when it comes to his wardrobe. Hats are his calling card. So, whenever you touch his bill, you’d better hope he’s in a good mood.
In this particular instance, Newton was in a great mood, but that didn’t stop him from playfully smacking the mascot, almost knocking his mask off.
“Cam was still playing at this point, and he ran back and, yam!” Clark said while making a punching sound effect. “But you gotta remember, the Bulldog’s head was already loose. So, he’s like, ‘Oh, we’re playing knock the hats off!’”
The bulldog mascot continued to try to wrestle Newton’s hat away, and Cam obliged for a bit. However, there was a moment where one could tell he was beginning to get tired of the act. And he proved this by squaring up to the A&M mascot at one point, as if he were ready to fight.
That’s when Clark felt the need to jump in.
“Now I’m running toward it, and I’m laughing, giggling. I see he runs toward Cam, and he hits him with one of these,” Clark said, puffing his chest out. “I said, ‘Oooooooh woo.’ So, I run, grab him, trip over my shoes, and I’m talking to him. He’s trying to tell me something, and I’m just like, ‘Bro, I’m trying to save your life.’”
Let me tell you about the day I saved Alabama A&M’s mascot’s life from @CameronNewton Newton:
So the story goes… #ThePivot #MagicCityClassic #Birmingham #FirstTake #Podcasts #Funnyhttps://t.co/UckGxw0XeZ pic.twitter.com/fMBSHkFwrX
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) November 1, 2025
Clark jokingly told the mascot on his show that if he wanted to pick on anyone, it should’ve been Stephen A. Smith, mostly because SAS wasn’t a former NFL athlete. At one point, Clark was genuinely concerned that his co-host was going to beat the tar out of the mascot.
At the end of it all, though, the fight didn’t escalate. Clark successfully defused the situation, and we can look back on the moment and have a fun laugh. But the next person should think twice before they go horsing around with Newton, who stands 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighs close to 250 pounds.
