Club Shay Shay - Cam Newton Part 2

Episode Date: April 10, 2024

Cam Newton continues the fascinating glimpse into his remarkable journey, touching on everything from his iconic 2015 NFL season to the rockiness of his time at the University of Florida. Reflecting on his Super Bowl run and MVP performance, Cam shares candid insights into the mental and emotional toll of the big game, including the infamous fumble that haunted him in his Carolina Panthers’ loss to Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos. Then, he delves into his extensive collegiate experiences. Cam talks about his time with the Florida Gators, which did not pan out as Cam expected because Urban Meyer was not as committed to Cam as he was to Tim Tebow. Cam also says the Netflix documentary focusing on Florida did not do a good enough job capturing the toxicity and chaos of a locker room comprised of guys like Aaron Hernandez, the Pouncey Brothers, Joe Haden and Percy Harvin. Cam also addresses the controversies surrounding his recruitment to Auburn and the resilience that propelled him through the adversity and into success, eventually culminating with a National Championship for Auburn. As the conversation ranges from confronting Alabama fans in the Iron Bowl, the recent scuffle he got in at his 7on7 camp, living next door to Michael Jordan, his parenting philosophy, near-death experience and not defining his legacy on whether or not he makes the NFL Hall of Fame, Cam's trademark personality shines through as he navigates numerous topics with depth and sincerity. Cam Newton offers a rare glimpse into the heart and mind of a football icon, providing valuable insights that resonate far beyond the gridiron. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Let's talk about that Super Bowl run, that magical season. You're 15-1. You win the MVP outright. Steve McNair shared the MVP award with Peyton Manning in 2003. What changed for you? What clicked that year that everything fell into place? Thirty five passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions. You had another, I think, 10 rushing touchdowns. Come from behind victory. You guys did it all. What transpired that year that you like? that year that you was like, I got it.

It was definitely harmony, but also a trust in coaching, knowing that that's really when Riverboat Run was giving me an opportunity. Like, I feel comfortable with the ball in my hands. Let me run. I know how to protect myself. I know how the chess of the philosophy of the game, if we're in any short yardage situations, let's make the defense play 11 on 11.

Just leave me with one guy. I can run through, run past, go around. I can find a way to get a yard. Put the ball in my hands and have, I they that was the year they had more design runs and that's why i felt comfortable like when you look at all the success that i had in my career high school even in college i was able to protect myself by running the football even though that the game at that point in time didn't see nothing like that i don't know what they're gonna do with you know taking the hits off i could protect myself outside the pocket now we see uh um richardson

and the colts we see lamar we see you know all these run first quarterbacks that they was designed to run you guys had power you pull the a guard, a tackle, and a fullback. And we're going to figure it out. Let's get the butter from the dump. You see what I'm saying? Yeah. That was the time where things started coming into play. Then you started saying, let's design passes off of this. Right.

Pull the same guard, the same fullback, right, and then boom, the RPOs. So when people are talking about the RPO, like these are the things that derived from something. We was doing that with the quarterback as the runner. Yeah, the major primary ball carrier. You see what I'm saying? Yeah. So my relationship with Mike Shula,

Ken Dorsey was my quarterback coach, and even Coach Rivera, like it was meshing that year. And that's what it pretty much came down to. You beat the Cardinals in the NFC Championship game. You destroyed them. And you get to the Super Bowl. So what's your thought process? You're like, man, I'm the MVP.

I'm in the Super Bowl. It was a beautiful day in Levi's Stadium. Remember Super Bowl 50? Remember like yesterday. My Broncos taking on the Carolina Panthers. What do you remember? Go back. What do you remember about?

You woke up that morning. You probably had the same pregame. What was your pregame meal? Shit, I don't know. I don't know. I know the night before the game what that was. What did you have the night before the game? Vanilla bean, bean ice cream marshmallows

caramel that was mine you i mean you ain't have no pasta no spaghetti no meatballs none of that i did but that that that that is just whatever they had right okay so you wake up that morning you have your pre-game meal only thing i remember from that super bowl was I was mentally drained. It was a lot. still to this day, I ain't never really watched a game. No film, no coach's view, none of that shit. I was, I remember that feeling

during the game, I'm tired. Like, tired. I remember running around I was like, Like, tired. I remember running around. I was like, yo, it's real stars on the sideline. You know what I'm saying? But still trying to stay focused. The halftime wasn't 15 minutes.

It was, damn, they're 45 minutes or an hour. Motherfuckers was changing their whole uniform. Having to re-stretch, re-tape. I'm like, damn, this shit is an event. And during the game, certain scrambles or certain runs, I was tired.

And knowing the measure of what was the mental task, I just thought, I was like, damn, I'm ready for this shit to be over with. You know what I'm saying? And that didn't impact the game. I just thought, I was like, damn, dog, I'm ready for this shit to be over with, you know what I'm saying, and that didn't impact the game, I just remember, like, I had just had my first biological son that year, and I was just, I don't know, it was like, know it was like i could it was two times in my in my life that i i couldn't lose right it was 2015 um in carolina and then 2010 at albert and that was just you know what drake say or the future

what a time to be alive like was it was were you tied mentally were you tied emotionally were you tied physically what was it about that day? Was it the magnitude of the moment? Was it you knew what you were about to embark upon and how different your life would have been had you won that game? What felt different about that day that all of a sudden you felt like you didn't normally feel? I tried to treat it like a regular game, but it wasn't a regular game. You know what I'm saying?

You played in the school. You know, like, you can explain it. But to be in it, them lights is bright. The crowd is already buzzing. Because normally you go out there for pregame, the stadium's half full. That stadium is three-quarter full and it's buzzing. The sideline is jam-packed.

You got, excuse me, excuse me, camera people. And like you said the celebs normally have one or two celebs but you got the stars of the stars that's out on the sideline then and you see it but you know like you said you try to prepare like man it's a regular game yeah you know a three points for a field goal touchdown is six interception yeah but the thing leading up to the game you couldn't do your regular routine it was like a a virtual kind of preparation you you couldn't have the confines of your house to get treatment you know massage stretching and and that process was on the road on the road, on the go. And I don't remember the crowd being loud.

You know what I'm saying? No. Because you got half the stadium was for the Broncos. Half the stadium was for the Carolina Panthers. The other half was drunk, and they didn't give a damn who won. It was an event that, you know, when I think about it, none of this has anything to do with the actual game right right but certain plays that play back in my mind constantly still to

this day it's like yo what if he would have caught that or what if i would have thrown on the fumble what if you know the defense would have got to stop right here or what if you know we didn't have a three and out right there you know what i'm saying what if we would have got to stop right here or what if you know we didn't have a three and out right there you know what i'm saying what if we would have went for like these things play back constantly that preparing for a game of that magnitude i did not give the respect to it like i should because there's nothing bigger than a super bowl no sporting event no and that's what i just you know you know they're going to pick apart about what you said about you being tired you being bigger than a Super Bowl. No sporting event. No. And that's what I just... You know they're going to pick apart about what you said

about you being tired. You being this game, you felt different than... Yeah. But it's the truth. I mean, look, did I play my best game? No. No. Didn't. But the truth is, did Peyton Manning play his best game? No. No. Both of you

guys, I think, will sack like four or five times through a pick, fumble. Yeah, like those things aren't – it's just I wasn't the best version of myself that day, and I'm fine with that. And I find peace in it now. It's – I wouldn't even say it wasn't meant to be. It was just like I just didn't put my best foot forward. That fumble you mentioned, you got stripped of the ball and the ball was on the ground bouncing around and everybody thought you were going to jump, dive on the ball,

at least give yourself another opportunity. That didn't happen. How long or have you gotten over that play? And how long did it take you to get over the Super Bowl losses? I mean, I took it personal. Pretty much like a whole year. And then when I felt like we could get vindicated or have vengeance or revenge from that, we lost because of Miss field goal, uh, in the, the rematch to start the season. Um, but yeah, that's what I take it. I mean, I, I'll say that we didn't lose the game cause I didn't jump on the phone. It was a combination of a lot of, a lot of different

things, but we lost and I take full accountability on my you know performance and I could have been better I should have been better right so the part of your we've touched on a lot of things and you touched on a lot of things the one thing that you didn't haven't touched a lot on I can't recall is your brief stint at the University of Florida. They win the national championship the year before you got there, correct? Yes. As I was enrolling, they were winning the championship.

Winning the championship, yes, sir. Tim Tebow is already there. You know, because Chris Leake is a starter. Tim Tebow comes in. They got packages for him. He's probably going to be the starter next year unless you being Cam. And I know how you think. Yeah.

I'm going to go get this job. Yeah. But that's not how I was recruited, though. Okay. I was recruited at the minimum with your skill set. You will have a package. You have a package also. Just like Tebow had.

Okay. And that wouldn't. Okay. Okay. Y'all won the national championship. A lot of these guys coming back. I could do that. You know what I'm saying?

Like, I'm looking at the style of runs. You know what I'm saying? Myself, like. That's me. I could do it. That's me. To get my feet wet in the SEC as a freshman. Four plays a game? Just to run?

Man, I could do that. I played linebacker early on in my rec ball, and then I transitioned into running back. Then that transitioned into I could throw the furthest. So now you could play quarterback. So these things is a part of my whole thing that embodied who I was as a player. So you get there, and it's not shaping up kind of how they, what they had told you or the way you envisioned it,

because all of a sudden, you're not getting these four to five plays a game. Right. And so did you have a conversation with Urban? Urban was, he didn't want to talk to me. I wasn't important enough for Urban to talk to me. And granted, you got to think about it like this. Do you even have a voice to talk when the person you're trying to talk about is the Heisman front runner? Yeah.

So I had a conversation with my father to say like, Pop, it's time to kind of rethink this thing because i would not have wanted a backup to me to have the energy to say i only can play if he get hurt i'm not that type of person right right you don't want to put that negative in yeah i didn't i was a i'm an ultimate pro i'm an ultimate teammate like i i wanted people to. You see what I'm saying? I didn't want Tebow to get hurt. He's the greatest college football player to some people. You know what I'm saying? And it's subjective.

If not number one, he's top five. And Tim Tebow is owed a large portion of who Cam Newton really is. portion of who Cam Newton really is because just the same way I gave you what sparked my aggression or my competitive nature with Jimmy Clawson, it sparked the same thing with Tim Tebow.

Being around Aaron Hernandez, the Pouncey Twins, Chris Rainey, Joe Hayden, Carlos Dunlap, Major Wright, Percy Harvin, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, Lewis Murphy, all these great players that I was around I would have been a fool not to take what they were doing and what made them great and apply it to my journey in Juco as well as Auburn right so some things transpired you get get into a little trouble with a computer and you end up but that wasn't the reason why i left the reason why

i left like did i get in trouble yes that was already taken care of okay prior to me leaving oh okay okay yeah i didn't get kicked out but see that's but see that's how they they framed the story yeah i didn't get kicked out of florida okay i left florida. And when Tebow announced that oh, and by the way, I'm coming back. I said, oh shit. It was a no-brainer. I gotta leave now. I wasn't playing when you was here.

And then for Urban's sake, you couldn't even identify who the backup was between me and John Brantley. I'm like, bro, what the, what are we going on we're fighting for scraps y'all can have this cool if it was up to me what did i want to leave hell no because them was my my brothers right like we build real relationships over that two years span that i was there we worked out together together. We trained together. We bled together. We cried together. We sweated together. We prepared together. And I'm seeing guys like Joe Hayden

play early as a freshman. I said, damn, bro, I would love to have an opportunity to play. Marquis Pouncey playing early. Man, I would have loved to. Aaron Hernandez playing early. I would have loved to be out there. And those things when they're like, bro, we'll go back to the dorms and have these conversations. Like, bro, that shit was lit. Like, bro, like you see all those people in there. I said, damn, I wish I saw them. But that wasn't, they weren't cheering for me. You know, the main, everything,

all the reasons why I went to Florida was accomplished other than me playing. And that's why I had to leave. And at that time, they had a transfer portal. So I had to get it out the mud. Urban Meyer had to sign off to where I transferred to. He gave certain restrictions. You cannot transfer to in-state school. So FAU, FIU, Florida State, miami i couldn't go to none of them right

and i couldn't go anywhere in sec so i said how do i clear all that so i can go anywhere i gotta go juco i said shit i'm going juco and on top of that what really ticked me the fuck off was when my father had called urban to ask for a championship ring he didn't give me a championship ring so that really was my driving force to becoming the player who i was i said don't worry about it i'm gonna go get my own got one at juco got one in at aub. You could make the case. Given the talent that you had at Auburn on the offensive side, Cam, you had the greatest offensive season for a quarterback in NCAA history. Now, I know Joe Burrow threw for 60 touchdowns and 5,000 yards.

But he had Justin Jefferson. He had Jamar Chase. He had Clyde Edwards-Alaire. He had, I forget the guy's name. Moss, tight end. Moss, tight end. And he had, if I'm not mistaken, another wide receiver.

The third wide receiver is in Carolina now. So what you had, look at what you didn't have and what you were able to accomplish. So basically, Jimmy Claussen lit a fire up under you. Tim Tebow lit a fire up under you tim tebow lit a fire up under you and urban lit a fire up under you not only by not playing you the four or five snaps that he said he would give you but also when you ask for a championship ring for being on the team that you felt you were entitled to like nah we good yeah but that's what made that what they call it that's what created the monster right

and i if i could paint it the way i wanted to paint it while i was at auburn there was a opportunity for auburn to play florida in the sec champ that's what you wanted that's what you wanted cam no racial slur but boy they would have seen the baboon out that motherfucker i would have showed my whole ass boy that's what i wanted i wanted to prove to them that they fucked that they made a mistake i knew that was my point to prove i was better than tebow that was my opportunity to prove that y'all fucked up that was my opportunity to prove that this could have been y'all but you played me and there was times where I will be the first person to tell you while I was at the University of Florida I was not the maturest person that I

needed to be to lead that team and I would take responsibility for that but who i grew to be nobody was fucking with me but by the time you came back that was the mature cam newton i needed to i needed alienation in juco i was in brendham texas and if i were to give you the amount of money that you got from cat williams to put up on the line and say where is bre Brenham, Texas? You couldn't point it out. And everybody who was in Brenham on that team, they had some roots or ties to Texas. So there was many weekends. There was many times where the closest family member was thousands of miles away. Only thing I could do was

work out. I cried. I mean, I was vulnerable. I was embarrassed, but that shaped the creation of who cam was. People don't remember this. When I was at the university of Florida, they call me Cameron Newton.

Yeah. When I went to Auburn, it was cam Newton. So for me, that was the creation of Cam two completely different people I knew how to compartmentalize those different people and I didn't let that situation use me I used it and when I look at my impact to football, I love to say people's favorite NFL player just started to get good in the NFL. I've been good at football by the grace of God. I was good in high school. I was good in college. I was good in junior college and I was good in the NFL.

college and I was good in the NFL. There's not a lot of players that can say that. And it took a measure of focus and discipline and also vulnerableness to understand like, bro, like you out here by yourself. So when I talk to my 707 kids and I talk to kids around, you know, the world and I tell them like, bro, I know what it's like to not have shit and you so close to what you want it ain't out of your reach you just gotta tap in and use this game of football and

not get jaded by the distractions the money the NILs the woman all these different things. Stay focused. You go to Auburn and then there's this

Auburn bought Cam Newton. His daddy received this large monetary sum of money. Yeah. So what's going on? How did this come about? Allegedly. Yes. You know. Before you.

So what were the schools that you could have gone to? OK, you go to Auburn. So where after Blinn, where were your choices? Oklahoma, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Auburn. OK. Oklahoma, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Auburn. Okay. It was a whole different recruitment process when I was in JUCO rather than coming out of high school.

Okay. Shit, out of high school, I was looking for gear and a good time. Right. By way of, you know, female. The hostesses. Yeah. And JUCO, oh, I was a millionaire mentality. How are y'all going to incorporate me in this offense with my skill set?

Right. Not what Sam Bradford was doing because that ain't how I play the game. Right. I'm going to bring a whole different element of this offense that you got to start shaping some shit around. Kansas State the same way. Mississippi State, Dan Mullen. Right? And he knew Dan Mullen was the offensive coordinator and the quarterback coach while I was at Florida.

Okay. So you had some familiarity. There was a lot of familiarity. And his plan was, I remember Coach Mullen had called me, and at that time, me being the type of player I was, if a coach calling you, that means you ain't go to study hall, you didn't go to class,

it was something. But this conversation was him telling me that he was going to Mississippi State. It ended up being Mississippi State. He didn't tell me the team. And I was saying to myself, well, he asked, he wanted me to consider transferring to Mississippi State.

But Coach Meyer had to sign off on that. And I knew he wasn't going to sign off for that. So I had to go to junior college. Now, when you say the things like going through the whole NCAA pay for play scandal. This is where I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to share this. If you really go back and you know, the reports to what it said, it said two sources.

Yes. Yes. Said that Cam Newton and his father took money to go to Auburn. Those two sources was Dan Mullen and his wife, Megan Mullen. How do we get to that? I'll tell you. The day I was going to commit to Auburn out of junior college, it was neck and neck. Mississippi State. Mississippi State and Auburn. When I went to Auburn, as my mental was solely focused on success, I was really trying to play catch up to the Joe Hadens, the Marquise Pounceys,

the Aaron Hernandez, who were already in the league. And I said to myself, we came in together. And Florida, they already in the league. I'm trying to find the fastest way that I can get to the league. When I went to Auburn, they mentioned that they would have 22 seniors coming back. Mississippi State probably only had three to four. These are all different things as a 20-year-old college player and a 16, 17-year-old kid. You don't think that that's a big thing, but it really is.

My whole determining factor was I wanted to go to a school that could get me to a bcs game that was either the tostitos bowl orange bowl sugar bowl whatever if i went there in my tenure at that school i was going top 10 okay because i knew in order for us to get there i had to play my best form of football. When I was about to commit to Auburn, one of the things that my father told me that I had to do as a man, he said, you got to call Coach Mullen.

And you have to tell him the decision that you're going to make. Be a man. I said, damn, Pop, like, why though? You know what I'm saying? He's going to find out sooner or later. He's going to figure out how to tickle. You know what I'm saying? He's going to find out sooner or later. He's going to figure out how to tickle. You know what I'm saying? He can read.

Shit. But that's how my father raised me. Okay. He said, son, you're going to have to be a man. Right. And that's where I always challenge society now. We need more men empowering men, not boys raising boys. You dig what I'm saying? Yes.

Certain circumstances play out like that. But to that point, I put a lot of focus on my father. I said, Pop, you a man of God. If it's on your heart to wherever we're going to decide to go, that's where we're going to go. Man, at that time, we were exploring so many different things. And he came back, wrote it down on a sheet of paper. I looked at it. It had Auburn on it.

I said, I ain't going to even question it. That's where we going. Okay. That day that I was going to make it public, I had to call Coach Mullen. I remember having a conversation. It was extremely awkward because when I called him, he answered, how's my quarterback doing? And I said, Coach, I just wanted to be a man to call you and tell you and Miss Megan that I'm going to Auburn. Now, they want you to hear through the grapevines.

I don't want you to hear it on ESPN. I wanted to be a man to call you. And he asked me this question. But how can you know I was going to do right by you? We need you. And I gave him this quote. It was just too good to be true. Now, too good to be true for me was you got 22 seniors. They battle tested. I ain't going into a locker room with freshmen. They ready to win right now.

They just need me to propel them to elite status. Mississippi State needed me and some. And I don't think Mississippi State garners the measure of recruits. Come on, it's Mississippi State here. And still Mississippi State at that particular point in time. And I heard Miss Megan in the background, I was like, did he commit? Did he commit? He was like, no. And then that's when I talked to her. I was like, man, I just apologize, but this is a business decision that I'm saddened that it didn't work out.

Had that conversation when I was 20. And I thought I was doing the right thing. So fast forward to the success going on at Auburn. First game we played Arkansas State. I think the next game or the first primetime game we had was versus Mississippi State it was on a Thursday night we ended up winning that football game and I'm big on energy I'm big on just posture and certain things at the end of the game I looked at him and I wanted I wanted to shake his hand and say, coach, man, appreciate you, man. Thank you.

And it was a little iffy, though. You know what the hood teach you. You know what I'm saying? My spidey senses was a little up. They were tingling. He on some bull. You dig what I'm saying? I ain't really know what it was. His wife was there. We spoke. Condolences, man.

Good luck for the rest of the year. You know what I blah blah the report came two weeks after that and if you remember it was two sources it was dan mullen and his wife that created all this ruckus. Cam and his daddy took money. Now, fast forward to now when it's becoming a big story. I remember after the game, we had another primetime game on Saturday night. We played South Carolina. That was when the world knew who Cam Newton was. Another phone call by Coach, Coach Chizik.

And anybody who played at Auburn knew if somebody's calling you from a no-call ID, it's Coach Chizik. That ain't a good call. Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news, previews, recaps, and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee. No dumb hot takes here,

just smart hot takes. We'll talk every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone, so I'm bringing in the big guns from NFL media. That's Patrick Claiborne, Steve Weiss, Nick Shook, Jordan Rodrigue from The Athletic, and of course, Colleen Wolfe. This is their window right now. This is their Super Bowl window. Why would they trade him away? Because he would be a pivotal part of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen.

Catch the podcast at NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All that you want to have. But I was in good standards. You know what I'm saying? We undefeated at that particular point in time.

He said, Cam, I need to talk to you. Are your parents still in town? I said, yes, sir. I said, I need y'all to come to my office and we need to have a conversation cool boom i'm thinking you know you're about to just stay the typical man you're doing an amazing job blah blah y'all raised an unbelievable oh my goodness it's working out fine i remember it look it was me my mom and my dad, and Coach Chizik sitting across from us. And, you know, Coach Chizik, you know, hey, I just want to let y'all know it's about to be a report that comes out that a scandal,

and the NCAA is about to do an investigation on you guys' family. So you're looking around like, on who, for what? Say, there's a report that you guys took money to come here. So I'm like, okay, cool. How much we talking? Boom, he said 180,000. Looked at my mama, my mama looked at me. We bust out laughing.

Tom, are you serious? Like for real, we laughing, Coach Chizik ain't laughing. I'm like, you for real? So I'm saying to myself, I'm looking at my mama, mama, you got 180? Pop, you got 180? Like, where the hell is money at? Right. Cuz shit, where i'm from you

can't hide that type of money no i ain't never seen a thousand dollars let alone 180 to 200 thousand right that'd be hard to hide especially man in our house but we gonna man shit i done found so much shit from playstations the se Sega Genesis, the all that that they tried to hide from us. I'm like, man, how? Who? Who got it? It was it was a suspicion to us. Who got this money that y'all proclaiming us to have got? And he was just reporting. He's like, listen, I don't know who did it or who got it. But the NCAA is about to open an investigation and uncover as much as they possibly can okay and during that stint

from that week on throughout even the national championship that burden That burden was always on. And I no longer was an amateur athlete. I had to operate as if I was a CEO. I had to operate and be stoic and be strong. And when somebody would ask, Cam, you all right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm good. Knowing good and well, I was suffering in silence. Nobody could go through what I went through. Not my family, not my teammates, not my coaches. Not only am I being investigated throughout the day, I'm trying to play the best form of football that I possibly can during game time.

And I'm going through so much. I can't I can't speak to them. I'm talking to my dad. I'm talking to my brothers. going through so much. I can't speak to them. I'm talking to my dad. I'm talking to my brothers. I'm talking to my family, but they don't get it. They're there for support, but it's not like we understand what you said. That's the only thing that they can say. I'm saying to myself, bro, it's hard. We're playing.

After that, you got LSU. You got Arkansas. You got Georgia. You got all these games. I'm like, yo, on top of that, this is the greatest season that the Auburn University has ever had. You got Alabama. How are you doing this? I was having an outer body experience in in my body. Like I'm like, yo, I'm surprised myself with the measure of focus that I had to go through.

surprised at myself with the measure of focus that I had to go through and still that's what brought my family closer because even though I know even though I knew still to this day nobody took money from it that was just a grenade thrown into the crowd to just have a bitter person he didn't come to my school so he had to have taken some money to go to that school because we had already had a relationship but i was thinking to myself hell you didn't play me while you was at florida these are all things that i'm saying like i seen your true self right i didn't want to get burnt twice so on top of that these things are happening and through it all by the, like I say, by the grace of God, I was able to still

perform at a high level. And my father jumped on that grenade. Knowing good and well, he ain't taking no money. Knowing good and well, he said, look, how can we allow my son to play? Well, we're going to need somebody to take the

to take this rap. My father said, without blinking, I'll take it. Paint me however you want to paint me. Right. I'll do it for my son. He going to be eligible to play? Cool. I'll take it. Well, Cecil, you can't, you can't come to no more games. And still to this this day it was told while during the heisman ceremony they said i think it's best for you not to show up for that i took that personal and the person that meant the most that had the greatest impact on cam newton the player the man that he became at his at his highest moment to date The man that meant so much to you couldn't be there to share it with you.

I could not share the moment. I remember winning the Heisman ceremony, stuttering. I was nervous, but I didn't want to be there. I wanted to be with my dad. I wanted to be with my family because this was my opportunity

to show my dad, like, to thank him, but also, my dad challenged me every day. Boy's not right boy you got to be a man from i'm 7 8 12 13 15 17 still in college so you got to be a man that ain't no man take responsibility take accountability this was this was me showing him pop i'm being a man pop look at me look at what you created man man it's us this ain't just me this ain't cam newton this for our whole lineage this is for the whole newton name this is what you created. Let me share that with you. Everybody was excited, but they stripped that from me. Right.

But Archie Manning, that ain't no question. But if it's Lamar Ball, that's a problem. Deion Sanders. Oh, he playing all that with that. These are great forms of King Richard. Men who meant so much and that was trying to put their family in the best situation. Tiger Woods, father, those these people. My father has did nothing wrong and was painted as a villain.

Still to this day, he still ain't been back to Auburn. Truth be told. Do you get an ain't been back to Auburn. Truth be told. Do you get an opportunity to get back? To Auburn? Yeah, but I ain't never been back to the Heisman. Right. For what? They didn't care about my family at that point in time.

Because if they knew we was telling everybody, like, $180,000, $200,000, you can't hide that. Not in my community. Not in my culture. You would have seen it in a car. You would have seen it in a house. You would have seen it in a something a business the church something they couldn't find nothing and this was an investigation that took place for more than about three to five

years nothing but when i'm suffering and all everybody really cared is, are you all right? Can you play? I was ineligible for a day. And boy, what we gonna do? I got eligible again. And now it put everybody at ease. Not knowing that, like, bro, I'm fucked up. Y'all at ease. I'm not at ease. But I used those, what is it, 12 minutes. I use that 40 minutes or 42 minutes on Saturday to inflict what was being inflicted to me.

Complete disregard to how I feel and whoever I was playing, they was going to feel me. So you're seeing a lot of examples of me using my circumstance, not letting my circumstance use me. Right. Jimmy Clawson, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, the NCAA. Damn, man. Somebody got to pay for this. And I'm doing this is a peaceful protest, so to speak. I ain't going off the rail and saying like, man, let me tell you, bro, y'all doing too much, NCAA. You call them a house. You know, people with reports of ESPN, everybody seeing them, like this was big news.

You don't care about my family. People were staking out on my house, asking like, did you do it? Going into stadiums where they disrespecting me by playing son of a preacher man. These are, these are facts. Right. Oh, scam Newton. You think what I'm saying?

Yes. This ain't, it's a whole thing that people ain't thinking about what I went through. Right. And I'm telling you like, bro, that ain't, thinking about what I went through right and I'm telling you like bro that ain't that's what I displayed there is no different than what an average black man or black family goes through on a regularity it may not be through sports it may be through circumstance mom working two and three jobs to provide single parent or the father's is is not around or he's trying to provide as best as he can these are all Trauma

That I was lucky to use that trauma To put on my shoulder to say I got to keep going. I got to keep going. This is my way out I ain't about to be no doctor ain't about to be no lawyer I'm about to be a football player. And I don't care what my circumstance is. I got to perform and put that compartmentalize that, put that away

for these 42 minutes while I show the world I'm the best football player. The game, the Iron Bowl. You guys go down 24-0. That team is loaded. That may be the best Alabama team

ever. You guys are in Tuscaloosa. You fall behind 24-0. Yep. You say Carolina, but that was the game. Say a Heisman moment you know say a heisman

moment you had a heisman game the entirety of the game from the point that you were down 24 nothing could really be your highlight so you don't need any others yeah what's going through your mind what's the team psyche at that point in time you're in tuscaloosa yeah that's your chiefest rival that's the that might be the greatest rivalry in college sports. I understand Duke, North Carolina, Ohio State, Michigan. But they're not in-state. And it's divided. You either

love Alabama and hate Auburn. You either love Auburn or you hate Alabama. There is no in-between. It ain't no cousins. It's bad blood. And I didn't know that. And I think Coach Chizik did a great job leading up to that week. Because that always will be the game around Thanksgiving. And school's out.

Right. That's just the first introduction to what professional sports will be. All we had to do was prepare for that game. You know, training table, workout, watch film, whatever. And he would give us speakers to talk about what that game was like. Now, me being at the University of Florida, I was a part of some rivalries. Georgia, Florida, Florida, Florida State, Florida, Miami. I witnessed all of them. They were rivalries, but the Iron Bowl is a little different. It's a different energy. I remember going to the game, and they had canceled our Tiger Walk. That's when you get off the bus, and then you have your fans. And I asked them, I said, why we don't got Tiger Walk?

Simple question or simple answer was, it's just not safe. Damn. We in college, I mean, it's amateur sports, right? Man, we was approaching, you know, the stadium. The bus rocking. Like, damn, these motherfuckers, a bus rocking. And I remember looking outside. It was a couple who had to be 70 plus.

They flicking us off. Damn. Grandpa, they all about it. Meemaw and them was flicking us off. And I said, oh, it's that type of game. When I entered the stadium on the field, they throwing beer bottles and beer on it. Like, oh, it's that type of game. All right, I see what we got going.

Disrespect is overload. We go down 24. Okay, cool. We got to score before halftime, man. I'm saying to myself, bro, Cam, if you're going to do anything great, just go and cement your legacy right here. And

dare I just make it all about me because we had unbelievable effort from Nick Fairley, the defense, Terrell Zachary, Darvin Adams, Michael Dyer, Lee Zimba. Like these guys were a part of that puzzle to get us to it. Now I got a lot of the credit, but these are the unsung heroes, too. And I just remember making it so personal. Like we this ain't what we stop it.

We got to keep going. Right. And as you know, being an athlete, that's what gives you that stamp of approval that we want to hear what your take was. What was it like in the locker room did you have to grab somebody by the shoulder pads and say motherfucker let's fucking go and you bullshit and we bullshit i'm bullshit too but shit we got 30 more minutes to impact the rest of our lives what we gonna do i'm about to barbecue motherfuckers you gonna get a plate let's rock and roll them type of stories

you can't get by just reporting the news because it take a different measure of of of experience and even though travis kelsey may be able to be talked to in this type of way you can't talk to shanna sharp like that sometimes you don't even got to talk to him you just got to look in the shop like that. Sometimes you don't even got to talk to him. You just got to look. Mm-hmm. You sure, bro?

Let's go. Let's get it. Those type of connections or Wi-Fi is something that only having the experience in the game

can share that. And I did not want that opportunity to be missed because I was fighting so much more off the field that on the field was just a

playground that was my place of refuge you can't talk to me reporter while I'm playing yeah I'm at peace blah blah blah and every time I ran I ran with with with a vengeance. I wanted to hurt somebody because I was hurt. And I used it as a way to give me my edge. Right. When you look at that roster, you mentioned Percy Harvin, Brandon Spikes, Joe Hayden, Dunlap, Janoris Jenkins,

Mike and Maurice Pouncey. Percy said he smoked weed before every game. Did you know, did you guys party that hard? Damn, damn. Shit, we was untouchable in Gainesville. I ain't gonna lie.

I was so disappointed in the documentary because they left out so much. What did they leave out? Shit, Percy. Go talk to Percy. Shit, go talk to Charlie Strong. Shit, go talk to Joe Hayden. You see what I'm saying? Ask them the real.

And they would have did that shit for free. Fuck all the Netflix deals and all that shit. Like, we need to tell. You want to tell the real story? Shit, that was a very toxic locker room. Where we still had success. But damn, it was a combination of a lot of talent that was boiling over right and there was times where it was just un unmanageable and then there

was also times where it was a thing of beauty where it was a competition every day every practice like we competed and even though Tim Tebow was a person who I wanted to be better than, Tim Tebow made everybody better because he competed. Right. That energy that he had, that screaming, that roaring and that. That's something that I could connect with. And he connected with everybody else, even the stadium. There is a situation you have a 707. you mentioned a 707 that you have here um deshaun watson has entered come through your camp uh justin fields has come through your camp and i remember telling your dad the first time this was a couple of years ago that it was documented and the kids i felt were being disrespectful not all kids but some was being very disrespectful and i remember

calling your dad i say see if i was cancel that. I said, because the one thing is that I'm taking time out of my busy schedule and I'm trying to give back. And the one thing I will not allow is kids to be disrespectful. And he just said,

I remember him saying, matter of fact, that ain't how Cam is. Cam's going to keep it going and keep, because he believes in this and he want to give back to community.

And then earlier this year, you had a situation where you have a 707 and i thought it was kids but it was later reported that there were coaches they were adults yeah that you ended up getting into it with yeah and i don't understand how you stay so i mean you had them fly out the dreads weren't going nowhere you stayed immaculately yeah i'm like it can't be real i just gotta be cg because ain't no way a man getting a tussle you got one in the headlock you you strong arm and when you throw him in the bushes and the other one come up like what the hell yeah well so what what what transpired what led up to that

confrontation they were uh coaches that was at one point a part of C1N. Okay. And that familiarity was something that, you know, we knew each other. Okay. Words were said. And I always say, I got my PhD in shit talking. Okay. I could talk shit with the best of them.

It don't matter if it's a young boy. It don't matter if it's a young boy. It don't matter if it's a preacher. It don't matter if it's an opposing opponent. It don't matter who it is. I can keep it governed in, in how you want to talk. Okay. And the truth of the matter was a lot of people,

when they, when they see you as equal, they will talk to you as if you were equal. And I show myself so much. I exert my my time and energy so much to people that they get so comfortable. Right. Right. Right. Who I am. And in large part, that's what I want. And also, but don't forget, like who like, bro, there's not a lot of people that have done what I've done. Right. And I don't use that as a banner. I'm Cam Newton. It was just like, yo, y'all talking. I'm talking. And then boom, it's going to be what it's going to be. So they see the the sauce. They see the smile.

They see all these different things. And you'll fuck around and find out. They take that for weakness. They take it for weakness. And even for the kids, they see you always running around. Hey, yo! See when they ain't on three? See when they bless the baby?

All that. They get distracted by that. That's still Cam Newton, the rookie of the year, the Heisman Trophy winner, the MVP. And nobody's really, they're not used to seeing somebody of my magnitude exert themselves in that space. Because it's really like a, for an expression or an analogy. It's like the Rucka Park.

It's raw, uncut. 707 gives you that platform to talk shit. Do you think you need to temper it because you say you put yourself on that level and when people see you as the level they see you as an equal, they will talk to you as such. I'm from the south

your dad's from the south i know he's told you cam our dynamic is never going to change i'm dad your son yes sir you're not going to be on my level right and he doesn't put you on his level you're you are do i put him on my level exactly so do you think moving forward you might need to temper that where you put people on your level and then you stay in their your place and you allow them to stay in their face in this situation no because i'll tell you this i'm i'm not quiet about saying where i'm from okay i'm from atlanta georgia yep and i don't want to just appease to buckhead and not appease thehead. And even if you don't know where those different areas in Atlanta is, you know exactly what I'm saying. Right.

And when I was growing up, Michael Vick was that person where if he would have said cam or anybody, I'm throwing a camp and I want somebody to be a part of my team, man. I would have did anything to be a part of it because he was my hero still am my hero that's the risk every single time i see the michael vicks the pac-mans they're like bro you that that i wanted to be vince young that guy these are the guys that i wanted to be like so i will always keep that respect there so now me being in the position that i am now the justin fields the deshaun watsons the bo nicks the sam howells these quarterbacks that have come and

that's just the name the ones that you may know not to mention the ones that you don't know and also other players travis hunter uh george pickens deep cam sutton even though what he's going through right now these players came through and i was trying to tell them then bro use the game of football because it can get you everything you want you got to commit you got to be disciplined right don't get distracted so it's hard for me to remove myself from a platform where i impact way more than people see then that viral moment going where somebody's swinging on this person and swinging on that person and I'm saying to myself I was so grateful because it could have gotten yeah and ugly on both sides if they would have pulled out

a knife if they would have pulled out a gun that's for them if my side would have been there I was by myself I was triggered and that was the thing now where even when i have these conversations with my girl she said okay i'm like you gotta you got kids you got eight kids what i'm gonna do if you go on right you get knocked in a coma what's it like what's your family gonna do so these are things that i think about myself and i'm saying to myself i mean too much much to too many people for me to get detracted from what the vision and the focus is, because a lot of people live vicariously through me. And whether they give me the credit I deserve or not, that still can't distract me from my mission. And that's always to impact and empower the next generation.

Let's talk about your upbringing your dad he's a couple years older than me went to savannah state um your mom is from savannah obviously savannah state is in savannah how was cam's upbringing your dad is a minister so i'm assuming that the upbringing was fairly strict oh extremely strict and with me smoking this cigar right now wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast nfl daily with greg rosenthal five days a week you'll get all the latest news previews recaps and analysis delivered straight to your podcast feed by the time you get your coffee no dumb hot takes here just smart hot takes we'll talk every single game every single

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of them winning that Super Bowl. I don't know why, Colleen. Catch the podcast, the NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal every day. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. And who doesn't want that? Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. podcast still hey hey boy hey turn it down tone it down you're cussing too much i ain't raising like that but you know those are things that my sister that liable that's him that barrett man but people have to understand even when i'm expressing myself to this day they got to

understand where i come from right my father didn't have the millions that i have right but he always was an alpha. Yeah. His presence was going to be felt whether he was wearing some raggedy clothes or wearing a Liberace suit. Didn't matter. My father had that aura about him. This is the man that I wanted to impress. So he raised me to be this way. Growing up in a church, it was extremely strict. I can't remember a time where, you know, I didn't have a curfew. That don't mean I didn't sneak out. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? But I would always say it like this. I knew and know what's right and what's wrong. I didn't always do right, though. You see what I'm saying?

I grew up in a three parent household. mom, my father as well as my grandmother and yes sir, no sir, no ma'am yes ma'am was you missing something? yes sir I ain't know what what?

what? it's yes it's yes sir it's no and no ma'am look at look me in my eye when i'm talking to you as a measure of respect but also understanding that you you are digesting the process and what i'm making you understand you're listening and understanding those things it's like i always tell the parents that that come through our program just like the players. What this society needs is for parents to be parents. We don't need no more home girls.

And, you know, he just, he all right. He going to be good. No, give that dude, give LaTayTay and John John a curfew. They failing math, science, and all that. And I don't give a damn how he can catch the ball. He ain't gonna go to college. They might be GNX, but they can't say the ABCs. Come on now.

They can recite a rap song, but they can't recite all these different things. I'm telling you. So that comes from the way that they're being raised. And when we start putting the onus back on the parents, that they're being raised and when we start putting the owners back on the parents that's when society will change Cam kids you mentioned you got eight kids hey you done I want more what six

flags baby man just bad come on Cam hey man look but but this is what they this is what they say what they say who say that i don't know who they is because i'm gonna find them and put something on them but people saying you're having all these kids i take care of all my kids see that's the thing yeah i always wanted a big family i come from that from that you know i'm saying i i my father had three boys no girls and my cousin here he serves as my as my assistant now that's my brother like we head to toe head to toe make the pallet who going down there to get the pallet no it smell like mothballs but you stink who's smelling like that who must it like those conversations happened during the

summer we worked together right my father had a construction company a landscaping business like that's how we got swole we didn't start living where we didn't have no free weights running around how we had this sod yeah these pallets yep you know i'm saying you're gonna go get this tree this bush and you're gonna take it 50 yards and you better not mess up my whole plant structure. That's how I got strong. So when I grew up, that's all I knew was family. Right. So I want that. And I owe a due diligence to each woman who get given me that. And I respect them the same. Do I have jurisdiction of who they talk to no but i owe a service to loving them unconditionally no matter what they do and we have to co-parent together

how do you because look cam these women want to be with you let's be one let's be all the way come on with it these women wanted to be with you. Mm-hmm You're not with you're not with this one You have a one or two kids with this one have one kid over here now you with them I think you with this the one you had the last kid with The previous like well, hold on what special why she get to be with you now You don't left me with five over here or two over here. Why she why she special? Well, I'm gonna mess it up for you no you can't it's it's a respect right and we can't allow our personal vendettas to get in

in in between raising these children you see i'm saying i do and did I want it to be this way when I was 7 12 years old I wanted to have a family who wanted to be married with a house and a picket fence and all that that just wasn't what my life panned out to be I proudly say I have eight children six biologically through me and I don't believe in stepchildren what my biological kids get everybody get I don't have no favors I'm raising kings and queens and I have uncomfortable conversations with my children is your fucking hey is your smoking weed is your drinking no i don't i don't patty cake with that i'm very hands on i i do go to football practice i do go to basketball practice track practice tennis practice because i want them to see what a positive male figure is in their life i'm not just out here just slaying and leaving right no but it's Cam, when you've been in a situation

for a long period of time. If I'm not mistaken, I think the first situation, you've been in that situation for probably about a decade. And to leave, and I'm, you know, I'm sure it was a very uncomfortable

conversation that you had to have. Yeah, but things happen, though. Okay. And as you know when you know we we all in the public eye try to keep personal yes personal uh-huh but i want to be an example for people that i've never proclaimed to be perfect learn from me right we can talk about everything and i think when you look at my career, Juco, high school professional, I've been that guy for a long period of time. I had a lot of temptations. I had a lot of mess ups along that way, too.

So that's why I'm relatable to these kids, my kids or anybody else's. I know what you're going through, bro. But that don't mean you can't fail this class. Because if you fail the class, you're not going to pass clearinghouse. Talk to me. I done did a lot. Just because of who you see today don't mean I ain't been through a lot. And they always try to put that on how old you are. I'm like, no, bro, I done been through a lot of stuff, bro. Some things that I'm proud to say and some things that I'm not proud to say.

The meme, do you remember, have you seen the meme of you and I think it was Josh Norman getting into it? They got a meme of you, bro. They meme everything. Now, you know you about to get even more memes now that you're on this side of the camera, right? Bring it on. Bring on the palace. Bring on the palace. Bring on the, yeah, I want that.

But, you know, it was crazy. I was having this conversation and the way media is now. By the time my son gets to high school or my daughter gets to high school, they won't even remember Cam Newton as a football player. Because it's so direct to consumer. Yeah. You too. I was willing to be so far removed. So far removed. And if you get really good at this,

Cam, people will forget that you actually played the game. Because I get a lot of times people like, well, how do you know so much about sports? I was like, I study a lot. I study a lot. They people like, well, how do you know so much about sports? I was like, I study a lot. I study a lot.

They're like, can you know, you know, football, you know, you know, days, you know, players, you know, all this stuff. Yes, ma'am. I do a lot of study and I have to prepare. It's in you, though. But that thing for me is like. Journalism, not just media. Journalism has changed. Yes. Over the years and how people digest that. Right.

And we're in a golden era of that. Right. We don't have to just wait on ESPN to report sports. Right. We can go to direct get Bayless and nightcap and, you know, all these different. Yes. Podcasts. podcasts to get the news. Right. And you don't need a middleman. No. Because there's something Cam wants to say. Cam has platforms.

He can just say it. Right. And with no misinterpretation. No. You ain't got to wait for me to do a magazine special or a newspaper. Like, no, that's going to get misconstrued. Right. Yeah, I'm going to tell you how I really feel.

When you were in Carolina, your neighbor was Michael Jordan. Yes, sir. Mike loves to gamble. Mm. Bure. Yeah, I don't play Bure. You don't play Bure? Nah, that shit right there, that's a relationship killer.

It got every type of person. You know your constituent on nightcap. It got motherfuckers bringing pistols to the arena. All off Booray. Yeah. I do some gambling, and I think I learned this quote around him, Michael Jordan, that is. He was having just a little banter. Somebody asked him, he said,

hey, how much you want to bet on this? Simply said by Mike, whatever makes you nervous. That's him. That's a flex right there. Yeah. But it is what it is. But you ask yourself, why is gambling so prominent with athletes? Because that rush.

That thrill that you get. It's either gambling or you playing a sport. It coincides because the nervousness, the anxiousness, that you kind of get the thrill. It's like, whew, is he going to make the shot? What's coming next? What's coming next? What card?

Is he going to get the card? Am I going to get the card? There's a next? What's coming next? What card? Is he going to get the card? Am I going to get the card? There's a lot riding on this. A lot of probability. You know what I'm saying? So it is what it is. So, yeah, I learned a lot from MJ. Very positive in who I am today.

Always was accessible to knowledge. You know what I'm saying? was accessible to knowledge. You know what I'm saying? And just what he represents for the culture and what he represents for us today is something that I've always marveled. If Cam Newton never plays another down in the NFL, are you satisfied with your career?

Yes, sir. Because I gave everything, everything to this game of football. And in the famous words of Frank Sinatra, I did it my way. From the fashion to the way I presented myself to everything else, I'm satisfied. When you decide, when you officially decide

to call it a career, in five years, does Cam Newton get that call? Does he get that knock on the door and say, welcome to football heaven? We just can't know how to go pro football Hall of Fame. Honestly, though, I wouldn't care. And not to disrespect the Hall of Fame and the people who are in it.

My impact was felt. And that's all I wanted. from a kid from College Park, Georgia, by way of Atlanta, to have the impact that I had where globally I go anywhere and people say, man, he look like, man, what's the football? That. We played in a masked sport to be recognized without your helmet on that tells you something that you did something right and let this be said too i never had an incident with

domestic violence i never had a a run-in with the law I never had anything conduct detrimental where people would have assumed that oh man he's a head case that's your personal opinion go back and talk to Ron Rivera go back and talk to Matt Rube go back and talk to Bill Belichick

talk to Greg Olson talk to Thomas Davis talk to these people who shared the locker room with me. Rest in peace. Talk to Jerry Richardson. These people will tell you who Cam Newton really is. A lot of people who don't like Cam Newton is only subjective to what you may think. And I'm fine with being able to say I'm not for you. And I'm fine with being able to say I'm not for you. And I think with me being so comfortable in my skin, that's what rubs people the wrong way.

So for me, I'm I can get the validation from people around when they appreciate what I've done. And that's my nod to them saying, well done. And that's what I can go to sleep at every single night. Whether my daughters or my sons remember me playing football or not, I have the ability to raise them to be honorable kings and queens, the same way that my father and my mother did for me and my grandmother. Last thing, the car accident when you was in Carolina. Do you remember that? Do you remember that morning?

Yeah. I do. It was on an off day. We had a victory Monday. And the truck that I was driving was elevated too high but you know young and like I wanted to

that was me being around the Texas being around Alabama like them country boys had them elevated trucks and I wanted to get one and the intersection that it was at I remember the car coming out then it stopped then I stopped or slowed down then I sped up

and he sped up too I remember I thought I passed him and I was trying to blow the horn like and as I'm blowing the horn he clipped my back left wheel and it flipped over and as I'm flipping I'm saying to myself oh my god not like this not like this and I was on the phone with my mom not like this no, not like this could have been it. You don't know the time, the hour or the day. So don't let smoking a cigar derail you from understanding that I'm a man of God.

God fearing. I know where my favor come from. I know where my favor come from. I'm humbled by the fact that God has given me the opportunity to say that I owe my life to him. I don't fear nothing outside of God. And that day was a perfect example of I was on top of the world. was a perfect example of I was on top of the world. My father would always say, son, be careful. One day you can be on top of the world and the next day the world can be on top of you. Do right by people. And no

matter what you say about Cam Newton, you can never find a person that I did wrong. And that's what resonates to me the most. Because there's times in my life, similar to that that car accident where I ain't supposed to be here. They thought after Florida, they would never hear from me again. It was so many transfers that left.

Right. And you never heard from them again. Never heard from them. But when I came back, then my story and my and my and everything that I went through. Why me? I would always ask myself, man, how am I always getting caught? Man, I was, son, you ain't regular.

These are conversations, this is a perfect father-son story. Man, I was afraid of my dad. The only thing that brought us closer was me in JUCO while i was in florida man i didn't call my damn it i'm gonna cut your phone off you better answer that was the first time i was out i was a bird i mean i was gone yeah man you could bring girls in the dorms and ain't nobody got curfew oh man but that wasn't the calling that i had. Right. It was, that's why I'm able to resonate with my kids and say, son, it's all right. Tell me like what's going on.

It may be tough loving, but all medicine ain't sweet either. Right. So as I'm living these, these situations and I'm saying to myself and let me be the example of hope. So I can't stop going out to 707. me be the example of hope so i can't stop going out to 707 i can't stop speaking my mind because every time i want to there's a person that i'm giving hope to that i may not ever meet but they are able to say man cam i resonate with cam he my kind and that's not a black thing that's not a white thing that's an all mankind thing. I like

him. Are you surprised Coach Belichick doesn't have a job? No. It's because he don't want a job. Like me. Bruh. What makes him special? You had an opportunity to spend one year with him. It was only a year. But what makes Coach Belichick special?

I remember when Robert craft called me and it was something that was just it penetrated my my my core it was like yo like damn he was like cam in this organization you ain't gonna find an organization that's pulling in the same direction like the New England Patriots. Everything is aligned to winning. When I went to spend my time in New England, I was blown away by the amount of details that they focused on. He taught the game of football. Not just to the offense, not just to the defense. Special teams included. He taught the game of football to everybody.

Oftentimes, that pencil ain't just a fashion statement. He got a pencil, iPad, notepad, taking notes. While he working out, taking notes. Watching film. Certain things. And he teaches the game. notepad taking notes while he working out taking notes watching film certain things that he teaches the game coaches often time forget that being a great coach is also being a great teacher you have to understand talking to cam you got to change the tone or dialect when you're talking to a Shannon sharp when you're talking to a Ocho Cinco Od odell beckham or patrick mahomes or tom brady the great ones know how to weave in and weave out and get they message across

that's what bill belichick has done and proven he's so intentional that it ain't like he riding off in the sunset because that's what he want to do if bill belichick wanted a job he got that name manning sanders belichick that man if he wanted to be hired somewhere he would have been there me knowing what i know about him he probably don't want it what does he have to prove and when you're at peace like that, you can gracefully bow. I think he wants that Shula record. All-time winningest coach in NFL history. He's so close.

But some records, out of respect, should never be broken. Think about Barry Sanders. When he was so close to Walter Payton. He said, no, Emmitt Smith the same way. See, I think Barry was like what you said, Keekly. If he thought Detroit could give him an opportunity to win, they have started trading pieces, getting rid of pieces around him that he could, the Glovers and the Lowbrows

and all them guys that started to leave, he's like, man, y'all ain't got no room for me Yeah, but sometimes people You got to ask yourself, too What's your carrot? There is a comical analogy where the mule is chasing the carrot. Mm-hmm in High school your carrot is I want to go d1. I want to go to college, right? That's your carrot you bite I want to go D1. I want to go to college. That's your carrot.

You bite that, boom. When you get to college, that carrot is NFL. I got to go to the league. When you bite that, it's now, oh, I want to go and be a household name, a pro bowler. I want to be an all pro. That's your carrot. When you got all these different things, a Super Bowl, what else is your carrot? And you dictate that, not somebody else.

And I think even for me, I don't have nothing to prove. I'm at peace. And if you're at peace with that. No, you got another carrot. You on this camera side now. Oh, for sure. You want to be great at it, just like you were the football. Oh man, listen.

It drives you. You'll probably hear the thing this is what and i tell people i want to be better at this because this isn't my natural football with god gave me the ability to be able to run and to jump and to catch a football so i didn't really have to work that much i mean i trained and got good at it but this is not something that I was naturally good at. But I'm working. It's the challenge, right? And I think for me to be independently owned, nobody's telling me what I should produce.

And for it to consistently catch the eye of people to make it go viral. That's my carrot. And it's doing it in an intent to impact. It's not doing it in an intent to shame. So when I do say game changer and a game manager, it was the, the, the topic of the NFL the whole year. Cause think about this,

whether the 49ers won or the 49ers didn't win, Cam Newton's topic or take was still going to be, who's doing that? Shannon? Stephen A? Skip?

They got so many platforms. Disney, Fox. Not me. I'm just taking my take. And it's just getting picked up because you can't ignore what I'm saying because it's the truth to a degree where it still becomes opinionated and subjective to the consumer. Cam Newton, ladies and gentlemen. Appreciate you, bro. Look, all my life, been grinding all my life. Sacrifice, hustle pay the price.

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