Cam Newton apologizes for tussle at youth football tournament

Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton apologized Friday for his role in an altercation at a 7-on-7 youth football tournament last weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. 

A video of the Feb. 25 scuffle, which went viral on social media, shows three men blitzing the 34-year-old Newton, who appears to handle them with such ease his signature ornate hat was not even set askew.

In an incident report, Atlanta police said that everyone involved declined to file charges, according to CBS affiliate WANF-TV. 

Addressing the incident on his "4th & 1" podcast Friday, Newton explained that his off-field opponents were former coaches under his C1N student athlete development program, which was also competing at the tournament. The former Carolina Panthers star and 2015 NFL MVP lamented that the altercation set a poor example.

"To every single high school player, to every single person I've influenced, to every single athlete — use my situation to understand that in one moment, in one decision, your life can change," Newton said on his podcast. "I apologize to anybody affected." 

Newton also named those men he alleged were involved in the fight, saying they were members of an organization called Top Shelf Performance. 

One of those alleged participants, TJ Brown, claimed in an interview with a Georgia radio station this week that there was a history of trash talk between the two organizations, and alleged that Newton put hands on Brown first. 

"I'm walking up a flight of steps, and I see a 6'6" guy grabbing my brother, that's what everybody's seeing," Brown said.

On his podcast, Newton stressed the importance of being the bigger person, referencing the disparagement he says he receives daily about moments in his career on the field – from not jumping on a fumble in Super Bowl 50 when the Carolina Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos, to losing his starting spot to New England Patriots rookie Mac Jones in 2021.

"It starts with words, and it should've ended with words," Newton said. "I'm disappointed in myself by letting it escalate to what it did."

Newton, the first overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, has not played in the NFL since 2021. He spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Panthers, leading them to a Super Bowl in 2016. He joined the Patriots for one season before briefly returning to Carolina.  

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Rishikesh Rajagopalan

Rishi Rajagopalan is a social media associate producer and content writer for CBS News.