Cam Newton Believes He Is Criticized Due To His Race

Despite his stellar play this season, Cam Newton is still constantly facing criticism for his behavior. Whether it’s his touchdown dances, propensity for handing the ball to children in the crowd after he scores or his general attitude, the Panthers QB has a knack for rubbing people the wrong way.

Newton believes a good deal of that criticism stems from one place: his race.

“I’ve said this since day one,” Newton said. “I’m an African-American quarterback that may scare a lot of people because they haven’t seen nothing that they can compare me to. The only thing that’s changed is we’re winning.”

Panthers’ head coach Ron Rivera thinks people should be scared of Newton because of his talent rather than his behavior.

“People should be scared of a quarterback with his skill set more than anything else,” he said. “That’s who he is. He’s a tremendously gifted athlete, a terrific quarterback, a smart football player … the list goes on and on.”

“People want to tag me as a Hispanic head coach,” Rivera, who will be the second person of Hispanic descent to coach in the Super Bowl, said. “That’s great, but I want to be tagged as a head coach. It really should be about your merit more than anything else, what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve done.

But, when push comes to shove, Newton only has one thing on his mind and that’s something everyone can agree on: winning.

“I don’t think he wants to be known as an African-American quarterback,” Rivera said of Newton. “I think he wants to be known as a quarterback, and a great one at that.”

Photo: Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers scrambles from Jason Hatcher #97 of the Washington Redskins in the 1st half during their game at Bank of America Stadium on November 22, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)