Former NFL MVP Cam Newton has established a solid second act in the media after stepping away from the gridiron. However, one moment got a little too close for comfort–and it all happened on national TV.
During a “First Take” segment involving rival HBCUs Alabama State and Alabama A&M, Newton, alongside Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Clark, hosted a 40-yard dash mascot race between the Bulldogs and the Hornets. Although Alabama State’s mascot clearly won the race, Alabama A&M’s mascot took a little exception to Newton’s celebration with his rival school and decided to knock Cam’s hat off.
Immediately, Cam slaps at the mascot’s head before telling him, “Watch out,” before pushing him aside. The mascot then walks behind Newton as Cam tries to reapply his hat before Newton turns around, prompting the mascot to halt in his tracks and pat Cam on the back.
“Watch out, stop playin’ with me,” Newton tells the mascot. “Stop playin’ with me!”
In recent years, several incidents in which Newton has had to defend himself have gone viral. In 2024, the former Carolina Panther was the subject of a viral video during a youth flag football tournament, where three men confronted him and subsequently treated them like a child, placing one in a headlock and ragdolling another before spectators eventually broke it up. There’s also the photo of Newton, with a smile on his face, in the middle of a training camp fight with then-teammate Josh Norman in 2015, the year Newton won MVP and led the Panthers to the Super Bowl.
The 6’5” Newton, who just had his college jersey retired at Auburn, isn’t someone I’d want to run up on in any capacity, especially if I have a mascot head on. Outside of his “4th & 1” podcast on YouTube, the Heisman Trophy-winner can be seen on “First Take” and the newly launched “106 & Sports” alongside Ashley Nicole Moss on BET.
