Commentators seemed surprised at Cam Newton over his Super Bowl 50 postgame news conference. They shouldn't be.
The Panthers quarterback's behavior has been consistent with that of an up-and-coming star facing adversity on the biggest stage.
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Newton walked out of his presser after giving short, terse answers to reporters about the Panthers' 24-10 loss to the Broncos. He was criticized publicly about his behavior at the news conference.
"You are the face of our brand right now," NFL Network's Deion Sanders said, according to Fox Sports. "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 guys would never do that.
"You can't be dabbin', smiling, styling and profiling when you win, and then this is how you lose."
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"It's a hard spot," added Steve Young on ESPN. "You're totally invested; you're overinvested, maybe more than anyone can understand, so to have that kind of emotion makes a lot of sense.
"It's just that you're the MVP, you're the guy that's going to be the face of the franchise. You're the face of the NFL going forward. You were the dabber and doing that part. This is the moment to show that resilience on the other side. Stand in there and answer the questions."
But this is the same Cam Newton that all but disowned his father during the scandal at Auburn, when Cecil Newton supposedly asked Mississippi State for $180,000 for Cam to sign with that school coming out of junior college.
Earlier this year, a heckler yelled $180K at Newton when he was at Auburn to cheer on his alma mater against Alabama, and he lost his temper and threatened to 'slap the s---' out of the person, according to USA Today's For the Win.
Not that Newton's actions Sunday were unusual. Remember Colin Kaepernick's news conferences when the 49ers were struggling in 2014? He was just as abrupt in multiple opportunities, as an example by SB Nation shows.
Newton's touchdown celebrations this year were getting criticized for the most part, until the Panthers reached the Super Bowl. Then the tone changed, with reports saying that Newton was just being himself, a big kid that was enjoying the success he was having.
So that's exactly why the big kid acted the way he did when Carolina lost in the Super Bowl.
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