National Football League

Cam Newton apologizes for role in viral brawl at youth football tournament

Published Mar. 1, 2024 3:52 p.m. ET

Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton apologized Friday for his role in a brawl over the weekend with an opposing group of coaches at a 7-on-7 youth football tournament in the Atlanta area.

"To every single high school player, to every single person of influence, to every single athlete, use my situation as a way to understand that in one moment, and one decision, your life can change just like that," Newton said on his podcast. "And I let my emotions get the best of me. And it should not have been called for. And with that, I apologize to anybody affected.

"It started with words and should have ended with words. I’m disappointed in myself for letting it escalate to what it did and that’s what I’m apologetic to. … The truth of the matter is this: Me, being in my position, I should’ve never put myself in that position. That’s just the truth. That could’ve got ugly, for real."

A short clip of Newton scuffling with three other figures went viral on social media shortly after the incident Saturday. The fight was quickly broken up by security, and Newton and the other parties were then ejected from the tournament.

Newton said that trash talk during a game involving a team from his C1N organization carried over off the football field, leading to the altercation. The game pitted the under-18 7-on-7 team from his organization, C1N, against a team from football training organization TopShelf Performance. A confrontation after the game then turned physical, with TopShelf claiming afterward Newton put his hands on its coaches first.

In the video, Newton did not throw any punches, and appeared to try to fend off some attackers. Most of the reaction on social media around the video was not overly critical of Newton, but rather amazement about how neither he nor even his trademark elaborate hat seemed to suffer much harm despite fighting off multiple attackers at once.

Still, Newton was profuse in his apology during the latest episode of his "4thand1 Show" podcast, expressing his remorse to TopShelf coaches Steph Brown and T.J. Brown by name as well as all players, parents and staff members involved in C1N. He confirmed that the TopShelf coaches, who are brothers, used to coach under him at C1N, which added to the tension of the situation.

Was 7-on-7 tournament scuffle a bad look for Cam Newton?

C1N focuses on developing young athletes’ skills in football by providing opportunities to compete at the highest level through 7-on-7 tournaments and other events, per its website.

Newton often attends the nationwide tournaments to coach and support his players in various age divisions, and even hosts some events under the C1N brand.

Newton said he received a call in recent days from the president of C1N repremainding him for the incident.

"Even though he was empathetic to understanding where I was coming from, he simply said, ‘Cam, that cannot happen. You mean too much to too many people. Too many people are betting on you to keep their lights on.'" Newton relayed.

"I think about the kids who look up to me, and also whether they verbalize their appreciation or just stare in amazement, I feel like I let them down. Because I can't sit up here and say, ‘Hey, bro, you got to be bigger than that,' and then all of a sudden, I do that. That just goes to show you, you've got to always stay in control of your emotions. And that's where the humanistic side came in. There's no excuse, there's really not, because it could have been a melee. More violence could have stemmed from that. And it's just not called for."

Newton said he also regrets the incident because be believes it perpetuates a stereotype that he doesn't like.

"It's echoing something that has been permeating for years — Black people," Newton said. "Why does it got to be at a Black event? You know what I'm saying? And I could easily play the victim, and I'm not going to do that. I'm going to hold myself to that same standard."

C1N is based in Atlanta, Newton's hometown. The 34-year-old Newton, who has not officially retired from the NFL, founded the youth sports organization in 2021 — the same year he played in his final game with the Carolina Panthers. Newton spent the majority of his career with the Panthers, including a late-career return that year to the team that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2011. Newton also spent 2020 with the New England Patriots, becoming the initial successor to Tom Brady after the latter's departure to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"I'm used to playing in front of 100,000 people and millions watching, and I let one person dictate how I feel? No, I can't do that. But I did that day,' Newton said.

Newton won the 2015 NFL MVP after winning the 2010 Heisman Trophy and leading Auburn to a national championship that year, but his professional football career was also marred by several injuries. Newton briefly made waves last season when he termed several well-regarded NFL quarterbacks, including Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys and Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers, as "game managers" on his podcast.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.