At a news conference Wednesday, Panthers QB Cam Newton rolled his eyes at a reporter’s question and asked for the next one instead, but then walked out seconds later.
The Panthers lost to the Bears on Sunday, with Newton throwing for only 211 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. The Panthers also lost their previous game to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer asked Newton a question about whether the team had the means to consistently make big plays like they had done against Detroit and New England.
“Cam didn’t intend to be discourteous toward any specific media member,” a Panthers spokesman later said in a statement via NFL.com. “In his mind, after answering questions for 9 minutes, he had fulfilled his obligations.”
In a news conference earlier in October, Newton responded to a question from a female Observer reporter, Jourdan Rodrigue, in a way that many others thought was sexist, and lost a Dannon yogurt sponsorship in the process. He later apologized and said the comment was a sarcastic joke that was meant to be a compliment.
Rodrigue herself apologized for years-old racially insensitive social media posts that surfaced after scrutiny brought by Newton’s earlier comment to her, which led her to take a few weeks off from the Panthers beat. Last week when she returned to the beat, Newton skipped the press conference, with the team giving little explanation
Newton has walked away from press conferences several times in the past, most notably after losing in Super Bowl 50.
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