Cam Newton is breaking his silence about the brawl in which he got involved last weekend.
The former NFL quarterback was caught on video in a scuffle with multiple men at a "We Ball Sports" 7-on-7 flag football camp and tournament Sunday in Atlanta. Newton's youth sports organization, C1N, sponsored a team at the tournament.
One of the men involved alleged that Newton's trash talk toward one of the participating teams sparked the skirmish.
But Newton had a different take Friday, claiming on his "4th & 1" podcast that the brawl started when he reacted to taunts directed at him. He regrets taking those words personally, he said on his show.
"Everywhere that I go, people talk," Newton said. "People say, 'Yo, why you didn't jump on that fumble,' 'ayo, Von Miller your daddy,' 'ayo, Mac Jones took your job,' 'ayo, Brock Purdy is better than you,' … and I let one person dictate how I feel? No, I can't do that. But I did that day."
Newton didn't get into detail about what exactly was said to him before the brawl started. But T.J. Brown, a coach who was involved in the fight, said in the aftermath that Newton was "talking crazy" in the days leading up to the incident.
The former NFL MVP did explain that he had a history with the men involved, T.J. and Steph Brown, describing them as "former coaches under my organization."
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While the two accounts of the incident don't align completely, Newton took responsibility for getting involved at all.
"I could play the victim, and I'm not going to do that. I'm going to hold myself to that same standard," he said.
Newton said that while he appreciates the jokes about the fight, including comments about how his hat stayed on the entire time, the result could have been much worse. He apologized for his part in it.
“To every single high school player, to every single person I’ve influenced, to every single athlete — use my situation as a way to understand, that in one moment and one decision, your life can change. Just like that,” Newton said. “And I let my emotions get the best of me, and it should not have been called for. Simple.
“And with that, I apologize to anybody affected — that’s Steph, that’s T.J., that’s their organization, that’s C1N, my organization, that’s my players, my parents, my staff members.”
Newton was never one to shy away from trash talk during his NFL career, even fighting teammate Josh Norman during training camp in 2015. But it's clear he regrets that the talk between himself and some of the coaches at the tournament turned physical.
Cam Newton fight video
Video of Newton brawling at the "We Ball Sports" 7-on-7 camp surfaced Sunday.
The video initially left plenty of the details up to the imagination, with little indication of who started the brawl and whether there were any players from the youth flag football teams involved. More details have surfaced in the aftermath thanks to comments by both sides.
While there are still conflicting stories regarding who ignited the brawl, all indications are that a war of words turned physical, and neither side seems to be proud of what went down.
