Cam Newton admitted that he could have handled his post-Super Bowl press conference badly.
Newton spoke to the newest edition of Ebony Magazine and, while not outright apologetic, admitted that he wasn’t able to process his emotions and it impacted the press conference, in which he offered no real answers and abruptly left in the middle of questioning.
“The truth is, I represent something way bigger than myself,” Newton told Ebony, via David Newton of ESPN. “I’m doing it for [my fans and family] and I felt like I let them down.”
Newton said that he hadn’t yet processed the defeat, and as some hypothesized, the sound of celebrating Denver players on the other side of the curtain didn’t help.
“Who is anyone to tell me, ‘Man, it’s just an interview’?” Newton said. “You haven’t been in that situation. You didn’t have millions of people watching you. Your heart wasn’t pumping [with] the embarrassment or the anxiety of the stress of dealing with that type of game.
“I just wasn’t ready to talk. Was I mad? Hell, yeah! But there could have been a better way to control it, and that’s why I think having more time would have helped.”
Two days after the game, Newton defended his conduct, saying he didn’t have any regrets. That seems to have changed now that he’s had some time to think things through.
