The Media's Killing Cam Newton for His Post Super Bowl Press Conference. Here's Why You Shouldn't
Justin Bariso
Founder & Principal at EQ Applied | Management Thinker & Doer | Emotional Intelligence Student & Teacher | Inc. and TIME Contributor
Before you judge a man, try walking in his shoes.
That's how I began my latest column this morning (you can read it here via Inc.com). Over a hundred million of us watched the Denver Broncos and the number one defense in the NFL dismantle the Carolina Panthers last night in Super Bowl 50. The final score was 24 to 10, but it didn't really feel that close.
The big story this morning, though? Carolina quarterback (and NFL Most Valuable Player) Cam Newton's post-game interview.
In a nutshell, the press conference was short, and Newton didn't try to hide his tremendous disappointment and frustration. In fact, he ended the presser just a couple of minutes after it began.
The media jumped on the attack following the interview. As of writing, the biggest trending story on the New York Times website is "Cam Newton, a Man of Many Talents, Falls Short on Leadership".
Even former NFL players took aim at Newton, with former NFL superstar Deion Sanders putting it this way:
"You are the face of our brand right now. You can't do that. I understand the emotions of losing. You can't do that. A (Peyton) Manning, a (Tom) Brady, all of those guys who have been prototypical guys would never do that. You can't be dabbin', smiling, styling and profiling when you win, and then this is how you lose."
The truth is, Cam did appear to sulk and could have handled himself more professionally. But as I phrased it in my column:
Before you judge Newton and freeze him in this moment, there's one question you should ask yourself:
How would you have acted in that situation?
We all suffer disappointments at work. When the pressure's on, we don't always handle it in the best way possible. Add to that the pressure of having every one of your responses put under a media microscope, and the truth is many of us might not fare so well.
To be clear, this isn't the last time Newton will face this situation. He's a millionaire and doing these pressers comes with the territory. If he's smart, he'll learn from this experience and view it as a means to build character.
But instead of judging a young man for his mistake, I implore you to remember the following:
1. Cam Newton is 26 years old.
Think back to your mid-20s. Anything you'd do differently?
Yep, me too. And I'm sure Cam will feel differently in time as well.
2. Let's focus on the positive.
If you're a sports fan like me, you might be reminded of the 2008-2009 basketball season. After the Cleveland Cavaliers were defeated by the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals, not only did NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James skip the post-game news conference, he headed straight to the locker room, refusing to shake the hands of his opponents.
(UPDATE: For those of you that think Peyton Manning and Tom Brady haven't been guilty of similar behavior in the past, you're mistaken. Just check out this and this.)
It's important to remember that Cam Newton respectfully congratulated opposing quarterback Peyton Manning personally at the game's conclusion, doing so with his trademark smile.
And although he knew what he was in for with the news conference, he performed his duty and showed up.
3. He took responsibility.
If you watched the Super Bowl, you know Denver's defense tortured Newton for the entire game. The young quarterback never got into a rhythm as his offensive line allowed him to get sacked six times and left him under constant harassment. Receivers, running backs, special teams, the coaching staff--and yes, Newton--made their share of mistakes as well.
Although Newton pointed out these mistakes, he accepted blame the way he should have--as a team.
In his words:
"They just played better than us. I don't know what you want me to say. They made more plays than us, and that's what it comes down to. We had our opportunities. It wasn't nothing special that they did. We dropped balls, we turned the ball over, gave up sacks, threw errant passes. That's it. They scored more points than us."
Could Newton have found a better way to put it? Maybe. Could he have given the Denver defense a bit more credit? Sure.
But I believe in this challenging moment for a young leader, he tried his best.
Summing it up
I know Newton has some growing up to do. At 26, we all did (or do, or will). But hopefully he views this entire experience for exactly what it is:
A chance to learn.
I'll leave you with the concluding words of today's Inc. column:
"For the 26 year old who just suffered the worst disappointment of his professional life, I have this to say:
Chin up, Cam. Learn from those mistakes. Today's a new day.
And the future looks bright."
What do you think? Am I cutting Cam Newton too much slack? Do you expect more, given the circumstances? I look forward to reading your comments.
Image courtesy of Zennie Abraham, Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/zennie62/5666566641
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As an author and one of LinkedIn's Top Voices, I share my thoughts on management best practices and organizational culture weekly. If you're interested in reading my free monthly newsletter, click here or contact me via email using jbariso[at]insight-global.de. (Or feel free to follow me here on LinkedIn or on Twitter @JustinJBariso.)
I also write for Inc. and TIME. Some other articles you might enjoy:
Hasn't Ms. Jourdan Rodrigue noticed the advertisment campeign of Dannon (who withdrew the sponsorship)? Their ads are women oriented. They portray women as the decision maker (thats good). They show Women feel bloated, Women have constipation, Women need help to be regular Women know that other women are not regular. They know that other women need help to be regular too. I wonder why no women’s organisation has objected to such a campaign that stereotypes women for its own gain?
Quality Operations Specialist at Pacific Gas and Electric Company
9 年Good points. We all were young once. It is through making mistakes that we learn. It is always good to have a mentor that can point out potential areas for improvement. Someone who can stand back and take an objective view and provide needed coaching. I'm sure Cam has received coaching in how he plays the game. It is not clear that he has a coach to help him with how to deal with the press and the "agony of defeat". Only time will tell.
He's young and a good guy who is still maturing. He's enough of a leader to devote a good amount of his resources to children. I'm not real concerned regarding his interaction with the media, as his heart is in the right place.
Director of Sales Southern United States at Lantech
9 年Pressure shows your true colors and mind set, Cam wears a hoody, sulks, walks off the interview and reverts back to Super Poor Sport. He's as classy as Peyton shoving his arse and nut sack in a female trainers face, and y'all bitch on Brady, REALLY !