Cam Newton Criticized For Being Sore Loser After His Team Lost In Super Bowl
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton is getting a lot of criticism for walking out in the middle of a media conference after his team's loss to the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl 50.
Football critics said the quarterback played a lousy game and followed it with a postgame interview session that was even worse.
He responded to seven questions with short answers and then walked out while reporters were still asking him questions.
I hope you all are showing better sportsmanship today. #SoreLoser @fredontv @ChrisWragge @MaryCalviTV @JulieDurda pic.twitter.com/YJyR5MPTWc
— Suzanne Boyd (@SuzanneBoyd) February 8, 2016
This is the same Panther who had been flamboyant and demonstrative all season long. He wore a pair of gold zebra Versace skinny pants on his way to the Super Bowl, setting off a frenzy on social media.
Cam Newton dropped $850 on a pair of crazy striped Versace pants https://t.co/DKfDNfz0ku pic.twitter.com/sr4HtKns05
— Insider Life (@InsiderLife) February 1, 2016
But the swagger in those fancy pants was lost after his team lost to the Broncos.
"If you're going to dab and act all fab in victory, you've got to stay and gab in defeat. And don't act like a spoiled child who has just been told he can't have any dessert, and you pout and walk out of the post game press conference," said Mychael Thompson, who made those comments on his ESPN radio show Monday morning in Los Angeles. Thompson played for the Los Angeles Lakers in the late 198os.
Thompson is not the only one who was critical of Newton's postgame performance.
"The campus was talking about it. It was like 'Wow! did you see the way Cam Newton got up and he walked away?' And a lot of kids were confused about that," said Patrick Roy, who coaches the boys varsity basketball team at Inglewood High School.
He said he used Newton's behavior as a teaching tool with his students, who said the Panther could have showed some grace.
"He's kind of like a role model to us. He actually could have been a little better with answering the questions and how he conducted himself," said one student.
"I'm disappointed that he didn't show his professionalism," said another student. "Being one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL, he still gotta held himself in a more professional manner," a third student said.
But the young basketball players said they still look up to Newton.