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CBS Sports reporter Pete Prisco reported that during the 2012 Pro Bowl Cam Newton had struck a nerve with several other players. Newton reportedly refused to sign autographs for families of other players at a get together held at the team hotel in Hawaii.
The "dissing" didn't stop there however, Newton was said to have an attitude problem with several players who were quoted as saying " He acted like he was better than every one and was a total D@#%!" One player that was allegedly dissed by Newton was Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who is known around the league for being a father figure and mentor for young stars entering the league.
When sought for news comment, Ray Lewis refused to deny allegations of a Newton-tude at the Pro Bowl. But Prisco claims that several players witnessed an alleged attitude by Newton to Lewis. "That’s the godfather there," one player told Prisco. "Can you believe he did that?" Prisco claims that Newton "dissed" Lewis, refused to sign autographs for another player’s children, and was allegedly downright rude to players in general. Of note, Newton is not sought for comment by Prisco in the report.
At that point, players apparently started to pass rush Newton because they were so taken back by his purportedly attitude. "He’s a young guy and learning, but he better change," another player tells news. "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."
"It didn’t matter who it was, he didn’t care about anybody but himself", said one player to Prisco.
Newton's attitude was reported as self-entitled and arrogant. It is hard to believe that any player would act that way towards veterans at such a social NFL event but maybe it explains some of why the Panthers team has not played up to expectations for most of this season. Perhaps Newton has struck a negative chord with some of his own teammates as well.
How bad allegedly was Cam? Yet another player claimed "He was a total [edited]. Who did he think he was? He acted like the big [edited]. Here he was at his first game and he acted like he was the star. Guys didn’t like that."
Newton was also present at the Preakness here in Baltimore where he was escorted by two armed body guards. The entire AFC defense was said to have played a bit harder when he was in the game at the Pro Bowl. He was sacked for the only sack of the game by a Texans player and supposedly flung to the ground by Denver's Elvis Dumerville.
It is not reported as to what exactly transpired between Newton and Lewis but perhaps Lewis attempted to teach the rookie a thing or two about respecting his elders and Newton didn't take it very well. Only a guess but I could see it going down somewhat like that.