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When Paul Finebaum has an opinion, he’s going to let it be known whether people agree or disagree.
When discussing Cam Newton and his exit from the Carolina Panthers following nine seasons in which he led the NFC South team to a Super Bowl and broke many of the organization’s records, Finebaum said on air that the Panthers handled the entire situation badly.
“I thought they handled it poorly. I watch enough pro football to know that things usually end badly,” Finebaum said in a Q&A with the Charlotte Observer. “I’ve been critical of Cam. Like many. Like you. But why be so unceremonious about it? I mean, just, let’s be graceful. He’s one of the greatest players in the franchise’s history. Why treat him like an outcast? Which I think they did.
“…I thought they did the same thing with (Panthers tight end) Greg Olsen. I got to know (Olsen) fairly well over the years. …What’s the point? Why be crass about things like that when you can show a modicum of class?”
Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP, was a success from the first day he stepped on the playing field for the Panthers, putting past rookie records far down the dusty trail as he became a phenomenon, winning the 2011 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
After struggling through injuries last season, the Panthers, and new coach Matt Rhule, decided to go in a different direction with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback.
Newton went unsigned for almost 100 days before being signed to a one-year contract by the New England Patriots, where he is set to battle with fellow Auburn former star Jarrett Stidham for the starting quarterback job.
“I think his health is the key,” Finebaum said. “I kind of wondered last year what he has left. I think the most amazing thing about Cam is that someone who virtually nobody in the NFL wanted has become the most talked-about athlete in the world for an entire week. …I think it shows that celebrity matters. And Cam is, in some ways, a bigger celebrity than he is a talent.”