Cam Newton was in a bad mood from the second he sat down to speak to the media after Sunday night’s Super Bowl loss, but one thing may have spurred his abrupt departure more than anything else.
Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. was speaking to the media at the same time as Newton, and the two were separated by little more than a curtain. It was easy to hear what Harris was saying while Newton was talking, and the Panthers quarterback appears to hear every word:
“Load the box, force y’all to throw the ball. Can you throw the football? That was the game plan,” Harris could be heard saying. As he spoke, Newton definitely looked to be listening, and at the end of Harris’s thought, he stood up, told reporters he was done, and walked off.
Harris obviously had no idea Newton was sitting on the other side of the curtain when he was speaking, and he confirmed that on Twitter.
@Edwerderespn @CameronNewton had no idea , idk why nfl had us so close .
— Chris Harris (@ChrisHarrisJr) February 8, 2016
This is absolutely not an excuse for Newton. Harris wasn’t speaking the whole time Cam was up there, and he wasn’t terribly cooperative to begin with. It is, however, a possible explanation as to why he reached his breaking point in that particular moment.
