Panthers’ Cam Newton Not Worried about his Character
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Streeter Lecka/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has been under the spotlight in the team’s 1-5 start to 2012.
Newton called out his team after their 19-14 loss last week to the Dallas Cowboys and the media has begun to question his character.
Newton though, isn’t worried about what others may say about him.
“I’m not going to worry about what a person may think about me in this setting,” said Newton on Wednesday. “I guarantee you if I was cursing everyone out and we were 6-0, ‘oh that’s just Cam being Cam’.”
Newton says he doesn’t plan on being the Mike Tyson and Dennis Rodman of the Panthers either.
“You’ve got the likes of Mike Tyson, Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley guys who have gone on and had that M.O. (and were able to get away with it, because they won). … Dennis Rodman, they knew he was going to get all the boards and that was just his M.O. When he came in with green hair, that’s Dennis. I guarantee if they were 0-82, he would have been out of the league way faster than he was. All the athletes I named were phenomenal athletes and they excelled at what they did,” Newton said.
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera says the blame shouldn’t be placed solely on Newton for their poor start.
“I think that’s just a matter of time,” Rivera said of Newton becoming a leader of the team. “He’s a young guy that’s been thrust into a big role, some of the other guys around are going to have to step up as well.”
Newton and the Panthers will take on the Chicago Bears (5-1) on Sunday.
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