Newton rubbed teammates, opponents the wrong way at Pro Bowl
Cam Newton brought some rough treatment on himself at last year’s Pro Bowl by disrespecting and irritating some of his fellow NFLers, according to a column by CBS Sports’s Pete Prisco.
Newton was the only quarterback sacked during the Pro Bowl, a game that’s usually about as intense as an afternoon stroll through the park, and Prisco says his AFC opponents rushed him harder than they did the other NFC quarterbacks. Now, some of those opponents have said Newton’s standoffish behavior was the reason.
“He was a total —-hole,” one AFC player said. “Who did he think he was? He acted like the big s—. Here he was at his first game and he acted like he was the star. Guys didn’t like that.”
Before the game, Newton turned down a player and his kids when they requested an autograph and a picture, saying it wasn’t the time. That incident occurred at the resort where the Pro Bowl players are housed in Hawaii, open only to the players and their families, so there was no danger of autograph hounds taking advantage of Newton.
“Who the hell did he think they were?” said another player. “The only people around are families. He knew that. Yet he big-timed the guy by saying ‘now’s not the time.'”
Through a team spokesman, Newton declined to comment on the allegations from various players that he offended them and spent much of the week in Hawaii alone.
“Cam’s in his own world,” one NFC player said. “He’s a young guy and learning, but he better change. They started rushing him. We were like, ‘what are they doing? This is the Pro Bowl.’ They didn’t attempt that with the other guys. They went after him. He better learn soon. You don’t want to go out there and get hurt at the Pro Bowl.”
