When retired NFL quarterback Cam Newton was asked on ESPN’s “First Take” if he would trade his 2015 MVP award for a Super Bowl victory, Newton’s answer was a resounding no.
Or rather, it was a resounding nope.
“Nope!” he declared when Stephen A. Smith asked if he would “give back that league MVP for a Super Bowl championship.”
“What’s more important: impact or championships?” Newton asked. “Everybody’s not going to be Michael Jordan; everybody’s not going to be Patrick Mahomes; everybody’s not going to be these individuals who have the luxury of saying, ‘Hey, I not only dominated this sport, but I also have championships to back it up.’”
He called choosing a Super Bowl victory over an MVP award the “humble approach” but maintained that an MVP or an All-America award is superior because it means “you held your end of the bargain down.”
“I’m taking individual success because I did my job,” he concluded, acknowledging that his stance certainly is “not the popular pick.”
This answer has sparked quite a bit of outrage, but Jason Whitlock says it’s “not surprising.”
He recalls Newton’s pre-NFL days at the combine. At the time, American sportswriter Peter King put out a story about Newton’s desire “to be an icon” over leading a team to victory. Many racialized the story and lambasted King for the mere suggestion that “Cam’s in this for Cam.”
However, Newton’s answer that he values his MVP award above a Super Bowl victory is evidence that King was right — Newton values self-glorification above all else.
The eccentric, costumey manner in which the former athlete dresses is “part of his pursuit of being an icon,” says Whitlock.
And while Newton has “a right” to pursue being an icon, “People with a mature outlook on football have a right to say, ‘I don’t want that from my quarterback,”’ he adds.
That doesn’t mean that Newton wasn’t a superb athlete, though.
“I think you can make a really compelling argument that Cam was a terrific player for a two-, three-season stretch in the NFL, but eventually his lack of leadership ability, lack of adding the intangibles that go along with QB greatness undermined his career,” Jason explains.
Ultimately, it comes down to this: Cam Newton will never be considered one of the greats because “he never truly valued winning.”
“What he’s really saying — and he’s saying it boldly — is, ‘I satisfied my goals. My goals were about building up Cam, and I did that,”’ says Jason, calling it “the wrong outlook.”
To hear more of his analysis, watch the clip above.
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