Cam Newton, the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, let his competitive spirit get the best of him Monday morning after a fight with a teammate. During a series of passing drills, Newton shoved Panthers cornerback Josh Norman and the pair had to be separated by teammates on the practice field.
Charlotte Observer sports writer Jonathan Jones has been following developments of the Panthers’ summer training camp, and witnessed the scuffle up close at the team’s facility in Spartanburg, S.C. The incident took place around 10:30 a.m. local time, and it took around a dozen other team members to break apart the two.
More from the Observer:
Newton and Norman had to be separated by nearly a dozen teammates around 10:30 a.m. Monday at Wofford College after Norman intercepted a Newton pass during team drills.
“Hit me like that again. I know something,” Newton shouted at Norman after being pulled away by running back Jonathan Stewart and fullback Mike Tolbert.
Tension had been brewing between Newton and Norman for more than a week as the two have battled in one-on-one and team drills since the Panthers arrived in Spartanburg.
Monday, coach Ron Rivera and defensive coordinator Sean McDermott had expressed their displeasure with a lack of energy and effort from the defense during drills.
It all culminated later in the fight.
Essentially, Coach Rivera stated that the tensions in camp are just part of the process and took away the lone positive that both men stood their ground. While he wasn’t thrilled about the altercation itself, Rivera was glad to see Newton assert himself as a team leader and Norman is one of the team’s best defensive players as well.
Team captain and linebacker Thomas Davis said that the fight was “stupid” according to Jones’ report.
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Photo: NFL Network
