Cam Newton Challenges Channing on the Bottom 5, Talks Personal Miscues & Legacy

FOLLOW THE PIVOT PODCAST: MERCH | https://pivotpodcast.com YOUTUBE | https://www.youtube.com/thepivotpodcast INSTAGRAM | https://instagram.com/thepivot TWITTER | https://twitter.com/thepivot TIKTOK | https://tiktok.com/@thepivot FACEBOOK | https://www.facebook.com/thepivotpodcast FOLLOW HAPPY DAD: https://www.instagram.com/happydad FIND HAPPY DAD: https://www.happydad.com/find Opening up in a honest and humble conversation, Cam Newton sits down with Fred, Ryan and Channing to discuss everything that has been going on from football, to his personal life to recent issues with some of the statements he has made. A deep and impactful discussion between men on growth, learning from mistakes and how to keep moving forward when the cards are stacked against you. And Cam shared a powerful burst of what the fire he still has to play football every Sunday. Allowing the vulnerability to come through, Cam opens up about some mistakes he made with relationships and owning up to the responsibilities his choices have caused and accepting the fall out and positives that have come with it. Back to football- Cam challenges Channing on his statement of him not being one of the best 32 quarterbacks and asks him if the bottom of the pack is better than him. The two debate why he is or isn’t in that group and Channing says the league has deemed he is no longer going to be a starter a team. Fred believes Cam still can land on a team this season before they go back to talking about his college days and time at Florida, asking if the off the field incident that Cam got into during his early college which led him to leaving for Auburn. Ryan gets into Cam’s recent situation and the comments he made about women and he explains how they were taken out of context and how his remarks were intended. Understanding that his words will never be louder than the media’s, Cam shares his thoughts and the message behind his words. Understanding the role of being a black man and leader for youth, Cam talks about how his impact in the NFL should have been greater than Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and the Peyton Manning’s of the world because of his influence on all communities and not just his play on the field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Mr. President, my company told me of the explosion on our rig.

• 0:03Speaker 01

  On October 2nd.

• 0:04Speaker 00

  Causing massive water displacement and triggering a tsunami. They all heap the blame on me.

• 0:09Speaker 01

  Tom Cruise is. Digger got us into this mess, and Digger's gonna dig us up. From the director of Birdman and The Revenant.

• 0:16Speaker 02

  What would happen if I stopped doing it? You stalled, you freeze in there, that's what.

• 0:20Speaker 01

  With great power comes great deniability.

• 0:24Speaker 02

  I'm not the first then.

• 0:25Speaker 01

  Digger, see the trailer online, only in theaters October 2nd. Rated R, under 17, not admitted without parent.

• 0:30Ryan Clark?

  Hey, listen, we got a super show today, because we got Superman, Cam Newton's coming on, but we have to give a shout out to PrizePix again. It's the NBA Finals, you know, we got the Celtics, we got the Warriors, daily fantasy, player props, it's all over the place. And Chan, tell the people a little bit about where it is.

• 0:46Channing Crowder?

  Well, it's everywhere, you know what I'm saying? Seventy-five percent of states, we got the big ones, we got Florida, California, Texas, all the big ones, and y'all know light-skinned Steph gonna show out now. Don't act crazy now.

• 0:59Fred Taylor?

  That's crazy.

• 0:59Channing Crowder?

  Clay Redd too.

• 1:00Fred Taylor?

  That's true, that's true.

• 1:02Channing Crowder?

  It's the Finals, it's the Finals, but you don't have to pick your favorite team, pick your favorite player, if you want to. But check it out, use promo code PIVOT, deposit a hundred dollars, we match it. If you deposit a hundred, we match it, but you gotta use the promo code PIVOT, that'll do it.

• 1:17Ryan Clark?

  Hey, that's a wrap, PrizePix, now it's time for the show. What's up, my boy? Cam Redd. Good to see you, boy.

• 1:22Speaker 06

  What's up, baby?

• 1:24Ryan Clark?

  Nah, you good?

• 1:24Speaker 06

  All good, we're fine on the show, man.

• 1:29Channing Crowder?

  I dumped that bladder. Yeah.

• 1:31Ryan Clark?

  Bro, it's because you got a little bladder.

• 1:33Channing Crowder?

  Small bladder, large urethra.

• 1:35Ryan Clark?

  That can't be on the show either.

• 1:36Channing Crowder?

  For real, think about that, a little bitty, little bitty ball going into a big pipe.

• 1:41Ryan Clark?

  We get it.

• 1:42Channing Crowder?

  A medium pipe, not big, big.

• 2:09Ryan Clark?

  Welcome to the Pivot, we got young Cam Newton.

• 2:11Channing Crowder?

  We got old Cam Newton.

• 2:13Ryan Clark?

  Oh, this old Cam?

• 2:13Channing Crowder?

  That sound about right, I accept that.

• 2:15Ryan Clark?

  We got an old Cam Newton.

• 2:16Channing Crowder?

  Old Cam Newton.

• 2:17Speaker 06

  Old is stuff you throw away, man, I like to say seasoned.

• 2:20Channing Crowder?

  Man, any synonym you take, I mean, I'm a realist, hell, old.

• 2:24Speaker 06

  Nah, you're not old.

• 2:25Channing Crowder?

  Post-prime.

• 2:28Speaker 06

  Bruh, I'm so at peace.

• 2:30Ryan Clark?

  I love that.

• 2:31Speaker 06

  So it don't matter what you call me, you can't call me bro.

• 2:36Ryan Clark?

  I love it.

• 2:37Speaker 06

  Either way, you wanna cut it or cook it, I'll be in all orange, man. So appreciative of this moment, man. Thank you guys for having me, man.

• 2:44Ryan Clark?

  Well, Cam, man, welcome to the show, bro. We super excited. You know, we got Happy Dad placed all around here. We got to get you some.

• 2:51Speaker 06

  Yes, sir.

• 2:52Ryan Clark?

  For the spot. And, you know, like, I'm gonna get right into it. I mean, everybody knows, one of the greatest college football players of all time.

• 2:58Speaker 06

  Yes, sir.

• 2:58Ryan Clark?

  Rookie of the year, MVP, All-Pro, Pro Bowl. Like, the list of accolades goes on. Also, too, I think what people miss about you, and I've had conversations about this on air, is the stuff you do in the community. The 7-on-7 stuff you do with young people, the ways you give back. Why do you think that the negative of whether what you say, what you do, or the perception of you outweighs the way people talk about the positives of Cam Newton?

• 3:29Speaker 06

  I'm a black man who knows who he is, and I'm not gonna conform to that. A lot of people are used to having, you know, people in place that they can control. And I think, you know, going through my life, I've realized the narrative gonna be what the narrative's gonna be. And my mic will never be louder than the media's mic. But at the end of the day, I won't cower away from, you know, believing in what I believe in and moving the way I should move. You know, I always had this conversation with my father as far as, you know, Cam, man, you letting yourself go, bro. You need to, you need to kind of reel it back in. And, you know, I'm like, what does that mean? Hey, cut your hair. Cut.

• 4:12Speaker 06

  And I said, well, my purpose is to empower and impact people. And the people in my community look like this. So if they tune in to Pivot, they could see a figure who looks like them, who has the same cultural values as them. And I believe I owe more of a due diligence to stay the way that I am, have been over the, over the years that I've been, you know, having this platform, to represent a voice that would never be heard from. You see what I'm saying? So that's just where I stand on it. And people look at a situation like me, people look at me, and I'm not gonna play the victim.

• 4:56Speaker 06

  Be damned if I do, but man, I'm just happy, man. You know, when a person sees another man or another person just happy, they gotta say something. All this this and jeans, all this this is that. And when I do give back to the community, I don't wanna have that, you know, situation where, yeah, hey, man, this what I'm doing, I'm doing this and doing that.

• 5:14Channing Crowder?

  Right.

• 5:14Speaker 06

  Man, I've been doing this for years. You know, if I start listing off of people who came through my seven on seven foundation, man, it'd be kinda scary. And I'm never gonna be one of these dudes, man, I made that boy, I made this, I did. Nah, that's not, that's not even in my spirit, so.

• 5:29Channing Crowder?

  When did the change happen? Because, and you let me know if I'm wrong, but the two thousand eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen MVP year cam, is not what we see now. It really, in my mind, let me know what I'm wrong.

• 5:43Speaker 06

  Visual.

• 5:44Channing Crowder?

  Visually, it's not what we see now. What made that, was it the money? What made that change? What made that aggressive push for Cam to try to, to show the change?

• 5:55Speaker 06

  Honestly, it was a situation, a personal situation for me. My longtime girlfriend at the time, you know, we had a, a, a family. And I made a mistake, I hurt her and I jeopardized our family at that time. And I had a, a child outside of our relationship. And coming from where I come from, being the person who I am, nobody will ever speak on it. You know, because we got a lot of people who are in high powers still make humanistic mistakes. And I can honestly say I made a humanistic mistake. And when Caesar Lorenzo Newton was born, I then stopped caring.

• 6:39Speaker 06

  Because I only could be the best person that I could be. And painting this picture of a person that, oh, man, I gotta act this type of way. Oh, man, I gotta be this type of person. I got so many kids now that if I'm not Superman to them, I'd be damned if I allow the world to call me Superman. You know what I'm saying? And it's just really putting certain things into perspective and, you know, it was, it was embarrassing for me. And honestly, it, it is embarrassing to talk about, but everybody don't really wanna talk about real situations in life. And that molded me, you know what I'm saying? And, and I just stopped caring about what people thought about it because it's like, you know, I come home. And I have a due diligence to be the best father that I could possibly be.

• 7:24Speaker 06

  And, you know, or the best person that I possibly could be, the best brother that I could possibly be, the best teammate. And sometimes you do fall short. What you supposed to do, cry? You know what I'm saying? I looked at my situation and I eyed it down and I said, man, listen, it's more people that, that has done what I've done more than they are speaking on it. And I'm just saying, man, I would never have a hidden child out there. I'll never, you know, not speak on the, the, the facts because it's a lot of people that can live vicariously through me and be better from it.

• 7:56Fred Taylor?

  You talked about visibility, you and Chan. And that comes with a certain perception. And we know you want to play ball. You say you're at peace. You say certain things don't, don't shake you and you don't care. Do you think with that mindset, that that travels before your talent? That goes to the interview process with these teams? Before you're able to show them what you actually can do?

• 8:20Speaker 06

  Put it in layman's terms, though. I, I, I, I hear what you're saying.

• 8:23Fred Taylor?

  Meaning, meaning teams will look at you and they'll see Cam with the hats, Cam with the clothes. Cam Newton isn't focused on football. Cam Newton is focused on Cam Newton. Being the light, that visibility, that perception, that hmm, whatever type demeanor. Teams will dock you for that. So my question is, do you think the opportunities that you've been given have been cut short because of that? You know, because some guys are getting workouts that aren't nowhere near as good as you.

• 8:57Ryan Clark?

  So you're almost asking, does the perception of who the person is?

• 9:01Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 9:01Ryan Clark?

  Come before what he can do on the grass?

• 9:03Fred Taylor?

  A hundred percent, a thousand percent.

• 9:05Speaker 06

  I mean, I said it, there's not 32 guys better than me.

• 9:08Ryan Clark?

  Still, you still feel the exact same.

• 9:10Speaker 06

  Oh, my soul. Cam. Oh, my soul. Oh, my soul. Oh, I couldn't wait.

• 9:19Channing Crowder?

  You knew it was coming.

• 9:20Speaker 06

  Couldn't wait. Ooh, I couldn't wait.

• 9:23Channing Crowder?

  You knew it was coming.

• 9:25Speaker 06

  So ask your question and let's debate. Because at the end of the day, comparing apples to apples, oranges to oranges, certain situations for certain situations. And if you think that I couldn't be on somebody's team right now, you a damn fool.

• 9:42Channing Crowder?

  As a starter, as a starter, as a franchise, as a Super Bowl contender, bro, Cam, you are big as fuck. Like, to be a quarterback, bro, you are a defensive end playing quarterback, bro. I love you. I draft you to my teams on Madden.

• 9:59Speaker 06

  Right.

• 9:59Channing Crowder?

  And I'd trade for you.

• 10:00Speaker 06

  Right. We ain't talking about Madden.

• 10:02Channing Crowder?

  But right now, bro, you are 33 years old.

• 10:05Speaker 06

  Yes, sir.

• 10:07Channing Crowder?

  You done got old.

• 10:08Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 10:09Channing Crowder?

  You're one of the best 32 quarterbacks in the world right now. Cam, I cannot accept that. I can't accept it.

• 10:15Speaker 06

  That I'm not.

• 10:15Channing Crowder?

  I saw what you did in New England. When you went back to Carolina, I saw what happened. Like, the proof's in the pudding. Tell me I'm wrong.

• 10:22Speaker 06

  The statistics are in the pudding. Because the statistics, there's too many variables out there to sit up here and say, a person may say, "Oh, man, Cam hasn't won a game." But if you're putting one game on my sole performance, then it's gonna be what it's gonna be. Supporting cast is needed when you're talking about, if you're asking you to run this show without your supporting cast upholding their end of the bargain, then you always gonna be left alone. And I'm not about to sit up here and speak on what I didn't have, more so than I just accepted the challenge. And that mentality alone, where your gift is your biggest curse, on one front, and in your front, when you're saying, when they do see the hats,

• 11:06Speaker 06

  when they do see the hair, when they do see the vibrant attitude, or the aura. Yeah, but it's also me getting into this situation and saying, "Bro, I should never even put myself in that situation." Thinking that I was enough to bring this situation back, you know.

• 11:21Channing Crowder?

  How hard is it for you, though, Cam, like, just mentioning being one of the best 32?

• 11:27Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 11:27Channing Crowder?

  You say that, but there was a time.

• 11:30Ryan Clark?

  You were the best of 32.

• 11:32Speaker 06

  Of course.

• 11:33Ryan Clark?

  Right, and so I, I think about like all of the greats, you know, like, like when Fred Taylor is no longer Fred Taylor, even if it's a slight drop off, people are comparing him to Fred Taylor. Right, you're always gonna be compared to, what was it, 2015? Like, people are always gonna look at you and say, okay, he is no longer that. How does that play into your perception of yourself, though? Right, cuz you always wanna be your best self, and you talked about getting older and those things.

• 11:58Speaker 06

  So, so the reality is, like, even the media people wanna speak on who's the top 5, right? Who's the top 10?

• 12:06Ryan Clark?

  Everybody does love the top 5 list.

• 12:07Speaker 06

  I changed the narrative and say, so I'm gonna ask you, who's the bottom 32?

• 12:14Speaker 06

  The bottom? The bottom 32. So go from 32 up. Hello?

• 12:23Speaker 06

  It would be the guys that took your job?

• 12:25Ryan Clark?

  No, no, no, no, no.

• 12:26Speaker 06

  No, no, no, it would be the Mac Jones, it'll be the Taurus. It'll be those young guys that are, that are 10 years younger than you. The real talk, it'll be the guys that are trying to prove themselves that are 10 years younger than you, that are working their way up, that their, that their ceiling is higher than what 33-year-old Cam Newton's ceiling is. Mac Jones is the 32 best, the 32nd best quarterback in the NFL? He's in the top 32? Because, because the NFL has decided that. The bottom 32, I'm asking, listen to my question. I'm not talking about the, the, the top 10 best quarterbacks, the top 20 best quarterbacks, the top 20 to 30, and then you got 2 guys that's sitting at 32. 32 to 64.

• 13:10Ryan Clark?

  He's saying Houston Texans, Davis Mills. Right, he's saying all of these teams on the bottom, before you get to Sean, Baker Mayfield. He's talking about some of those quarterbacks who we don't necessarily look at as starters and stars.

• 13:23Speaker 06

  Like, looking at the, the, the pendulum, we can all say Aaron Rodgers, we can all say Tom Brady, we can all say Russell Wilson, we can all say Josh Allen, we can all say these different quarterbacks.

• 13:35Ryan Clark?

  Patrick Mahomes, all those.

• 13:36Speaker 06

  Patrick Mahomes, right.

• 13:37Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 13:38Speaker 06

  That's the front of the 32, like, those are 1, 2, 3, 4, right. Let's do 32, 31, 30, 29, 28, 27. Who are they?

• 13:49Channing Crowder?

  The league has addressed it that you're not in that.

• 13:53Speaker 06

  That's fine.

• 13:54Channing Crowder?

  No, no, no, the market, the market sets it, Cam.

• 13:57Speaker 06

  No, okay.

• 13:58Channing Crowder?

  No, the market sets it, Cam. If they do not put you in that place, then you have to see that I am not in that 32. And there's teams, 32 teams have said that you're not in that top 32. To answer it, do I think you're better than Mac Jones, Tua, Davis Mills? I would say yes, but I'm a Cam fan. But the league works you out. The league works everything out.

• 14:25Speaker 06

  You done making your point?

• 14:26Channing Crowder?

  Yes.

• 14:27Speaker 06

  Okay. I was with Mac Jones. Mac Jones is gonna be a great quarterback. I'll put Mac Jones at that 20-ish threshold. He a young gun, right? And obviously with the guys that they're gonna build around him from the defensive special teams, offensive side, he's gonna be, he's not the guy that I'm talking about. Tua, Tua just got some key acquisitions. I'm not, I'm not talking about Tua. So let's, I'm speaking for me personally, not the league. When we had this conversation, let's say six minutes ago on the air, I reiterated that I'm not, there's no, there's not 32 other quarterbacks that's better than me.

• 15:10Speaker 06

  You said, Cam, Cam, Cam. And I then said, I can't wait. So then, that's almost you saying that that's a rebuttal. So with that rebuttal, I'm asking you, Channing, list your 32nd, 31st, 30th, 29th, and 28th best quarterback.

• 15:35Channing Crowder?

  But I do not own an NFL team, Cam.

• 15:39Speaker 06

  Like, let's, let's, no, let's be honest, Cam, I do not own an NFL team.

• 15:43Ryan Clark?

  The question is this though.

• 15:43Speaker 06

  The NFL has not given you that chance.

• 15:47Ryan Clark?

  What chance?

• 15:48Speaker 06

  Why is that? Why is that? Answer my question. Why is that?

• 15:51Ryan Clark?

  It's, it's a question for him in this, in this, uh, Cam. And, and talking about the top 32.

• 15:56Speaker 06

  Yes, sir.

• 15:56Ryan Clark?

  And saying that you are better than the bottom of the 32.

• 16:01Speaker 06

  Mm-hmm.

• 16:01Ryan Clark?

  What part of making that decision also goes into, can I have, or is it worth having Cam Newton on my team if he's 28 through 32? Right? With this, kind of what Freddie was, Freddie was talking about the perception, the hats and the dress and all those things. It's almost as if, once you work your way down to that number.

• 16:24Speaker 06

  No, I'm not.

• 16:24Ryan Clark?

  Is he, is he, no, cause you.

• 16:26Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 16:27Ryan Clark?

  Like, one, you said, you're unapologetically black.

• 16:29Speaker 06

  Of course.

• 16:29Ryan Clark?

  Right? And we gotta talk about the position.

• 16:31Speaker 06

  Yes, sir.

• 16:32Ryan Clark?

  The quarterback position is not for unapologetically black men.

• 16:38Speaker 06

  Mm-hmm.

• 16:38Ryan Clark?

  Who aren't elite players, right? So we can have Patrick, we can have Russell, you can have Deshaun. You can have all those guys, and those guys are good to have on your team because they're at the top of it. Right? When everybody talks about the movement of the black quarterback, nah, we ain't getting backups.

• 16:53Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 16:53Ryan Clark?

  Right? We don't get to, we don't get to ride out 15-year careers.

• 16:57Speaker 06

  Mm-hmm.

• 16:57Ryan Clark?

  Playing the backend, like, we have to be the best.

• 17:00Speaker 06

  Right.

• 17:00Ryan Clark?

  Do you think that plays a part against you in saying, yeah, 25 through 32, I'm better than them? But it's also, I get all of Cam Newton with that as well.

• 17:09Speaker 06

  Of course, and it could be a distraction, and I know that. But my point that I was making, and I'm close, this is my last thing. It wasn't about what the NFL was saying, it was more about what you were saying.

• 17:22Ryan Clark?

  So you said, Cam.

• 17:24Speaker 06

  That wasn't the NFL saying, Cam. I already, the, the NFL speaks for the real situation that it is, I already know that. But it, but when the, the tone that you were saying, Cam, come on now, Cam, come on now, come here. That wasn't the NFL talking, that was you talking, so that's why I asked you the question.

• 17:41Ryan Clark?

  Yes.

• 17:42Speaker 06

  What's the other guys that's?

• 17:43Ryan Clark?

  Chan, Jimmy Garoppolo.

• 17:45Speaker 06

  Is he better than Cam Newton?

• 17:47Ryan Clark?

  Mm-hmm.

• 17:47Speaker 06

  Is he better than 2015 Cam Newton?

• 17:49Ryan Clark?

  No, today.

• 17:51Speaker 06

  Now, yes.

• 17:52Ryan Clark?

  I'm talking about today.

• 17:53Speaker 06

  Yes.

• 17:53Ryan Clark?

  Jared Goff.

• 17:55Channing Crowder?

  Very equal. Daniel Jones. I, I, bro. Daniel Jones. I watched you in New England. Listen, man. I watched you in New Eng- real talk. Answer the question. And this a ma- this a man question. We good. This a man question, bro. I watched what you did in New England. Uh huh. I watched you, I watched that, that first game last year. Yes, sir. In 2020. Uh huh. Against the Dolphins. Yes, sir. Down there. Like, I watched the difference in what I saw when you were the dog. Right. And what I saw you as older player. Uh huh. And it wasn't that same turnover. It wasn't that same experience. It wasn't the Cam New- the Michael Vick experience, the video game. Right. That was a Cam Newton experience when you watch Cam Newton football. Right. It's not the same right now. Uh huh. And that's, that's the point I'm trying to get across.

• 18:40Channing Crowder?

  That maturation, that push, that, that, that change. Does it have to be the same though, Chaney? Chaney, does it have to, does he have to outplay Cam Newton?

• 18:47Speaker 06

  Before, before I sit up here and finish my, are you done with your list?

• 18:51Channing Crowder?

  Yeah, you got it, bro.

• 18:51Speaker 06

  Okay. This is, this is the facts. All right? And this is why the gift is the curse. Right? Cause my own worst enemy will always be me. And I'm gonna tell you, I'm gonna keep it a buck. I done jumped in some [__] up situations.

• 19:13Speaker 06

  Just keeping it a buck. Right? And this is, this is, this ain't no remorse. This ain't no, I want somebody to feel sorry for me. This is me acknowledging that I understand I own up to jumping up into some [__] up situations. The New England experience was a [__] up situation. I was still learning the offense seven to eight weeks into the season. That was. In what regards was it messed up? Okay, the, the, I'm learning systems mentally. Right? As a quarterback, it's not just can you catch? It's not just can you, you, you can disguise that. We all been around teams where it's like, ready, break. Hey, what, what I got? Right.

• 19:55Speaker 06

  As a quarterback, you have to look the part, act the part, and be the part, right? So there was countless hours with Jed Fish. There was countless hours with Josh McDaniels. There was countless hours with so many different people trying to teach me certain things, and it was just brain overload. So there was times I'm going to the line and I'm still thinking. I'm thinking about the enunciation of the play. I'm thinking about forgetting my motions. I'm thinking about my sight adjust. I'm thinking about certain things. So that's the [__] up situation. Did I know it? Yes, to the degree that I needed to know it to, in order to show the world that I'm still Cam Newton? No, I didn't. But I put myself in that situation, alright?

• 20:38Speaker 06

  Now, Carolina, I put myself in another [__] up situation. I was signed on Thursday, I played on Sunday. At what point did you think you was gonna be successful? That next week I started. That's still up under 10 days of you being on a team. And you're still trying to learn an offense. This is not a receiver. This is not a safety. This is not a left tackle. This is a quarterback. So before I sit up here and allow the narrative to be made that Cam ain't got it no more, Cam is taking full responsibility and saying that Cam put himself in a [__] up situation, which then had a ricocheted effect to people thinking how you think, which I respect,

• 21:23Speaker 06

  because we all are entitled to our opinions. I don't necessarily have to agree with it, nor do, should you or anybody else who watches this has to agree with it. But I'm saying, I put myself in some [__] up situations, thinking that, man, I'm Cam, bro. I'm booked. You feel me?

• 21:36Fred Taylor?

  That's natural. That's the competitive instinct. You know, we all have that. That's the reason we're able to do what we're able to do at such a high level. But I won't pivot off that, because that's, a lot of that is opinionated.

• 21:45Speaker 06

  Right.

• 21:46Fred Taylor?

  We can sit here and debate and say this or that. I think you can be a New Orleans fan. You know, that's just me. I wanna pivot back to really how you, how we get here. How do we get to Cam Newton, right? You ever heard the story of three Gators and a Tiger?

• 22:02Speaker 06

  No, sir.

• 22:03Fred Taylor?

  One, two, three, and a Tiger. But that's besides the point.

• 22:07Speaker 06

  Why did you choose the University of Florida? You're Atlanta boy. I'm from Atlanta. Right. Georgia didn't recruit me as a quarterback. A lot of, a lot of places didn't recruit me as that. So, I mean, I look at the state of football right now, man, and I, and I, and I smile. Because what I was doing, it wasn't necessarily innovative, revolutionary, almost. I was just taking what the Vince Youngs was able to do, the Michael Vicks was able to do, the Dante Culpeppers was able to do, the Randall Cunningham's was able to do, the Steve Youngs was able to do. And I just implemented it in, in my own right. You know what I'm saying? That I knew, coming from where I came from, you didn't get taught the best ways of how

• 22:52Speaker 06

  to tackle. It was just hit hard. Right. You see what I'm saying? That was it. It wasn't the head positioning, it wasn't keep your head up, the eyes up. It was, man, knock that motherf** out. Right. You see what I'm saying? And that mentality rolled with me everywhere still to this day. It's just like, man, it's gonna be what it's gonna be. And a lot of people get distracted by the aesthetic. I'm from, I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, bro. Ain't too much that, that I'm going for. But I've been domesticated to understand that I'm still a businessman. A hundred percent. But why Gainesville? Gainesville gave me the best opportunity to get out my situation. Okay. I never seen that many people in my life.

• 23:35Speaker 06

  I went to the 2006, I think it was the 2006, 2007, my official visit was South Carolina and Florida versus South Carolina, that was the game of the week. And Moss, the, the DN, had blocked the last second field goal attempt. And when I heard that stadium roar.

• 24:31Speaker 06

  I said, man, this, this all I got. I mean, I do, we, we, we like gladiators, you know what I'm saying? And playing in front of the, the 1,500 people, the 3,000 people in, at the stadium at high school. I mean, I was looking at that like the Percy Harvins, the, the, the Tim Tebo's, the Brandon Spikes, the Chris Leaks, man, them were gods to me.

• 24:53Fred Taylor?

  It's funny you mention Leake because you signed with Florida at a time when, you know, like I know, having a black quarterback.

• 25:02Speaker 06

  In the S U T.

• 25:03Fred Taylor?

  Wasn't a thing, right? But you still decided to go and people might forget about your time at UF.

• 25:10Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 25:10Fred Taylor?

  You know, um, national championship year, that whole thing. And we all know about the little incident that happened.

• 25:16Speaker 06

  Yes, sir.

• 25:16Fred Taylor?

  I, I know it well, right? Do you ever think what life would be like if that didn't happen? Because things happen for a reason, one, right?

• 25:22Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 25:23Fred Taylor?

  I had a similar situation. I went in somebody's car, well, we were in somebody's car, in a rental car. My stupid thinking self, I went in the glove box and I took the credit card receipt. I mean, I bought pizza and whatever else, wings for the entire dorm. And I got caught, I got suspended three games.

• 25:41Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 25:42Fred Taylor?

  My junior year, I got suspended, so I was gonna leave for the draft regardless, but I couldn't. God was like, nah, stay put.

• 25:49Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 25:49Fred Taylor?

  This is why I'm gonna make you stay put. The next year I came out, I was the ninth pick, so things happen for a reason. Do we have Cam Newton if that laptop incident didn't happen?

• 25:59Speaker 06

  Absolutely not. I bought a hot laptop, knowing it was hot, you feel me? But once going back to, that's our culture, you feel me? Like, it's sad that when we go to a, a minority owned, you know, uh, entity, and then we go to the cash register and then say, alright, bro, come on, dawg, man, give me a bow, man, come on, hook me up, bro.

• 26:24Fred Taylor?

  Right.

• 26:24Speaker 06

  And then we go into a predominantly white entity and we don't even look, we flex even more. It's like, oh, that's 3,000?

• 26:35Speaker 06

  He go a tip, baby. You know what I'm saying? So, no, I don't think that there is a Cam without that situation happening because honestly, I was looking for a way out.

• 26:46Speaker 06

  Never heard that. I was looking for a way out. When I, man, it's really unheard of for me to have been in that situation. When I, when I committed to the University of Florida, I was the first quarterback to commit. It was three quarterbacks that committed in that, in that same recruiting class, right? It was Brian Wagner, he was the number one quarterback in junior college. John Brantley. Myself, John Brantley was the Gatorade Player of the Year. Yeah, you beat him out. Right? And myself, and then it was Tebow after, obviously, when he took the reins when, when Chris Leek was there. They never publicly said that there was a distinct number two. I was the backup just by merely because John was, uh, rest hurting. And I never wanted, I, I remember telling Dan Mullen this.

• 27:32Speaker 06

  I said, man, I never want to be in a situation where I hope somebody gets hurt in order for me to play. Because I wouldn't want my backup to be hoping that, man, I hope Cam tears Achilles or, you know? That's just, that's just ill intent. And I'm pure, you see what I'm saying? Like, if we all playing basketball, if we all playing football, if we all playing golf, or we even playing spades, I would never cheat or want to cheat. It's just the best man gonna win. Right. You see what I'm saying? But with that whole situation, that, it was a blessing in itself to get me to realize, okay, what's happening is I'm getting an avenue to leave. This was way before the transfer portal, right?

• 28:15Speaker 06

  So, I went to, I had to go to junior college. Urban Meyer would not have signed off on me going in-state or to another SEC school. Right. So I said, well, and then this fucked up thing about it, that team that I was on, that won the national championship, I never got the national championship ring.

• 28:35Speaker 06

  So then, I told my father, I said, "I'm gonna go get my own national championship." And that's, that was my drive to go do that. And, and I swear to you, that time when I transferred there, or, well, the coaches would always say like, "It's not a, it's not a high success rate, you know, if you transfer to another school." That's like a threatening thing. I looked at it as motivation, you know, because when you being faced with certain shit, it's either go, "Use you, or you gonna use it." And I used that situation to say, "Man, these motherf***ers forgot about me." Just like I still use the situation of the Panthers releasing me and I'm thinking like, "My whole life I've been an underdog, so these f***ed up situations that I'm putting myself in,

• 29:20Speaker 06

  I ain't new to this." I, I, I won big on certain fronts and I lost big on certain fronts too. So, going through that, I'm looking at it like, "Damn, like, I gotta, I gotta go get my own." And they thought, when I transferred, that that was gonna be the last time that they was gonna see or hear from Cam Newton. And every single thing that they pursed, that poster child that they was high praising, I got everything he got and some. But I would always respect him because I took what he was doing. I seen how he worked, I seen how people respected him, and I implemented that to Juco Cam. I also took what I learned from the guys from Juco that hungre to say, "Man, now I gotta get out this m****"

• 30:04Speaker 06

  to Auburn Cam. And then, it was really creating a monster because I was nowhere more than a year. People often forget, like, "Bro, my, my career, I was in Gainesville longer than I was at Auburn." But my impact was more on Auburn than in Gainesville. So I was learning from the Chico's, the Pouncy Twins, the Chris Rainies, the Major Routs, the Major Rikes, Joe Hayden, Ahmad Black. Right. Carlos Dunlap. Tim Tebow. You know what I'm saying, Brandon Spikes, Brandon James. I mean, bro, those are some gods, bro.

• 30:41Channing Crowder?

  But is that a place for a 20, 21-year-old kid to be able to decide his own path? Thinking about it now as a grown man, like, looking back, making those decisions as a teenager or early 20s guy, bro, like, that seems overwhelming to a 19-year-old.

• 30:57Speaker 06

  But going back to, bro, I have to be the voice box for the culture, bro. It's a lot of people out here that's living in more situations at the age of eight. Like, folks ain't got no healthy home. They living in a two-bedroom house with nine people. And your situation has to teach you that you gotta grow up fast. And I couldn't finesse my situation no more. I couldn't tell, "Hey, Coach, come on, man, I was tripping. I do the little gases I do." I couldn't finesse no more. It was just like, I seen the true side of what this was like, saying like, "Cam, you [__] up, and don't nobody give a damn. It's gonna be what it's gonna be."

• 31:40Speaker 06

  And I then knew, it's like, "Bro, these folks ain't out here playing with people." And I was lucky enough to be able to bounce back. Most people don't get an opportunity to bounce back. So, that's what I was standing on, you know, just knowing like, "Yeah, I was young. It did happen to me. I learned from it, and I used it."

• 31:56Ryan Clark?

  You've given us some adversities you faced and walked through. Like, you know, the thing you told us about your child earlier, that's something I didn't know.

• 32:05Speaker 06

  Mm-hmm.

• 32:06Ryan Clark?

  And the vulnerability to be open about that. Recently, or maybe not as recent, you received some flack for comments you made about women, and women in your life, and the way that you perceive them, and the things that they need to do. Obviously, you came back out and you made it clear what you meant.

• 32:24Speaker 06

  Right.

• 32:25Ryan Clark?

  The backlash you received from that, how did that affect you? And how have you used the things you've been through, the adversities you've been through, to kind of move forward from that and just keep being Cam?

• 32:37Speaker 06

  So, my mic would never be as louder than the media's mic. And I seen that situation as also a reminder that...

• 32:48Speaker 06

  It don't matter how much money that they give you. You still a puppet to a degree. It's another synonym out there. But I'm just gonna use a puppet, right?

• 32:59Speaker 06

  You sign a deal with whoever. You think that money good until you do something bad. And then, Pinocchio, you out of there. See what I'm saying? I never intended to hurt, bring down, oppress, defame no woman when I said what I said. I think, just like in this aesthetic, it's a lot of topics that's being talked about. And I would just mention something. I never had an opportunity to go back. Is that Willian and Wallo, Gillian Wallo's issue? No. It's my job as the person, as the spokesman of that, to go back and say, hey, man, I made a mistake.

• 33:44Speaker 06

  Or, let me go back and tell y'all what I really meant. And I would say it on this platform. There, I said, I grew up in a household with two strong women, right? As well as a father. My grandmother and my mother. I knew what a woman was. In this day and age, I think it was hurting, or it was catching a lot of people off guard. Because people don't really know, the Gen Z, the millennials have a phrase that it's like, girl, you a bad bitch, girl, you, that's a real thing. And it's a respected term, right? I was saying, we don't necessarily need no more of that. Because as a woman, what I said was, you don't know how to cook, but you call yourself a bad bitch.

• 34:28Speaker 06

  You don't know how to allow a man to leave, but you call yourself a bad bitch. What I should have added to that, as a strong man, you also have to listen to your partner. Even if you're in a situation where it's a girl and another girl, or a male and another male, you have to listen to your partner. You have to be whatever your partner needs you to be. I did not make that the point then. I then now know now, where it's like, I've never, or will never try to defame somebody by saying, no, we don't need this, and girl, you know, da, da, da, da. Shut up, what are we talking about? Like, no. I'm saying, as strong men, we have to also appreciate that strong force in our life.

• 35:10Speaker 06

  And nine times out of 10, more times than not, it's a woman that's behind us to say, you know what, Cam? You're wrong. You know what? I had so many people reach out to me and educated me on this situation. Because there are situations in media, in our lifetime, that there's double standards. Primarily, you know, Brittany Griner is supposed to be out of that situation. If that was LeBron James.

• 35:37Channing Crowder?

  Yep. Been back in Russia two months ago.

• 35:40Speaker 06

  Are we even having this discussion? If that was Steph Curry? If that was Russell Wilson? Right? So, I'm gonna be an advocate to use my platform and tell, you know, people how it is. And will I get the blunt or the brashness or the punishment for it? I'll accept it because I'm comfortable in myself. People were then talking about, you know, in the media, which I didn't appreciate, are we talking about women rights? Are we talking about digging into all my demons in my closet? Because the main people who were talking about, oh, Cam made this comment about, you know, women not knowing how to cook. But didn't you have a child outside of your?

• 36:24Speaker 06

  And what does that have to do with anything? Didn't you make a feminine or sexist remark? You know, and what does that have to do with this? And to be honest with you, let me show you how it's bullshit. Because every single person that used their platform to talk shit about me, I sent them a DM asking, hey, can we talk about this? Help me understand how you feel about it so I could be a better person. You know how many responses I got back? Come on now.

• 36:53Channing Crowder?

  Zero.

• 36:54Speaker 06

  Your response doesn't warrant a payday. So, that's the environment. You're not gonna. So, to that point, I will say my mic will never be as loud as the media's because they'll let that go viral. But, bro, I've been doing this 7 on 7 shit for years and that would never go viral. But let Cam slap somebody, that's gonna go viral. But when I sit up here and say, Deshaun Watson was my first quarterback. Justin Fields, Sam Howell, Malik Willis, everybody who ever came through Atlanta. I impacted their life. Travis Hunter, Jada Hazel with George Pickens, Bo Nix. These kids are literally seeing me week in and week out.

• 37:39Speaker 06

  I'm using my money, I'm using my time, I'm taking my children, I'm taking my family on these bus rides with them. I'm not posting that, but when I say, hey y'all, you know, come make a donation to the Cam Newton 707, dah dah dah dah dah. Ain't nobody [__] with that. So why should I give a damn, you know, or change what I'm doing or what I represent to appease to somebody who never even gave a [__] about me?

• 38:05Speaker 06

  And that's how I feel. So when people know that's how, that's how you rocking? It, it really kinda like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, no, no. This [__] here. Shit, he, he on to something. He know that. Shit. I just signed this 300 million dollar, uh, sponsorship deal, but shit, uh, [__] this person, [__] that person, man. And then it's gonna be some fine print in the, in the contract that has any sign, anything defamation publicly, dah dah dah dah dah. We, we have the right to take.

• 38:37Ryan Clark?

  Have you, have people pulled things from you though, since then?

• 38:40Speaker 06

  I did. I, I got two contracts taken away.

• 38:44Channing Crowder?

  Wow. How do you navigate that? Like navigate, like the, the [__] mentality with the business side of it?

• 38:52Speaker 06

  Cause I say it like this. I'm not going, I'm not going to conform to nothing because when I don't have nothing else, I think I will need my people to stand up for me. Jay-Z said it best. I'm not black emoji. Okay.

• 39:09Speaker 06

  You know what I'm saying? You take that mantra where it's like, nah, man, I can't go back to the hood. Nah, man, I can't go back to the, to the, to the city, dah dah dah dah, until I have to. You see what I'm saying? I saw myself more valuable than a Tom Brady's. I saw myself more valuable than an Aaron Rodgers. I saw myself more valuable than a Peyton Manning's. Not because of the talent, just because I could go into their community.

• 39:33Speaker 06

  Finish. But they could never go to my community. Hmm. And, and anybody who sees me, they know, man, Cam, bro, that's a, that's a solid dude, bro. He's always with his kids. He's always with his family. I don't allow a lot of people to, to come into my, to my energy because I, I'm, I, I, I give all of me. Just like this, it, this, this interview, I'm giving you all of me. You see what I'm saying? And, and whatever you thought prior to this, whatever you thought prior to this, whatever you thought prior to this, whatever anybody else thought prior to this, y'all gonna leave knowing a different side of Cam that you probably never even knew.

• 40:12Speaker 06

  And I'm like, it's not dangerous or it's not a, a rebellious mentality that I have where it's like, no, you know, I'm da, da, da. I'm like, nah, man, I, I got so many different, um, uh, mentors that are Caucasian of, of this, different descent, male and female, that has impacted my life. You know, one of my mentors right now, the way that I dress, the way that I dress now is because, he may not even know this, Tim Jackson. He was the, uh, uh, associate athletic director at Auburn. Every single day, he came in dressed to the nines. I mean, suit and tie, lapel pant, pocket square, cowboy boots one day, loafers the next day. He even wear like some Underarmors, because we're sponsored by Under Armour.

• 40:57Speaker 06

  And I'm like, damn, like, I never told him, I'm peeping you. But a lot of people in our culture, they don't say that, bro, you're my role model. Until, sadly to say, then they pass away. He's still here on this earth and I'm telling him, man, he will come to me and he will cook. He will do everything. And I'm like, damn, bro, that's dope as [BLEEP]. I never knew a man could be that, right? He had his wife, his kids, Teddy Grace, Emma Presley. And I'm saying to myself, oh my God, man, this is the dude that I want to be. When I'm 40, when I'm 30, when I'm 25, da, da, da, da, I want to be this dude. Hey, y'all come over to the crib, I'm gonna cook for y'all.

• 41:37Speaker 06

  I got the means to pay for any type of catering service, but it's gonna hit a little different, like, damn, bro, you made this teriyaki salmon?

• 41:45Speaker 06

  And but you made the cake too? Yeah. You feel me? So a lot of people that I've been peeping, I don't want nobody to see this and be like, man, Cam hate white people or Cam hate somebody like Jews or da-da-da. Hell nah, because I love these people. I love people. But all I'm asking for, I'm standing on a table to say, I just want equality for all. You know what I'm saying? Because we all know, you know, the quarterback position, what about the head coaching position? What about the position coach position? What about the backup position?

• 42:15Speaker 06

  What about the general manager position? What about the owner? Position?

• 42:22Speaker 06

  So you can't sit up here and say like, oh, man, a lot of these owners, not a lot of minorities, you know, have the capital to own a team. But a lot of these owners are majority owners. So if you say, I own 30% of the team and everybody else owns 15%, 15%, 50%, you're still the owner, correct? So why you can't say, hey, I'm gonna give all minorities that have the capital, that y'all gonna split it, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop? And then somebody has to be the owner.

• 42:48Ryan Clark?

  Do you think we are, we are moving closer to a place where that will be accepted? I, I mean, I'm on, I'm on TV constantly, whether it's talking about GMs, head coaches. I mentioned to you earlier, we don't get to be backups for 10 years. Like, we don't have, there is no black Chase Daniel.

• 43:08Speaker 06

  No.

• 43:08Ryan Clark?

  There is none, right? There is none. And so when you think about where we are moving, not only in, in ball, in, in, in society, when you look at the things that are happening in today's world, how do you feel, or, or, or what are you thinking Cam can do to change people's perception of what black men can be?

• 43:31Speaker 06

  Mm-hmm.

• 43:32Ryan Clark?

  Right? Because it, we can be leaders. We can be heads of households.

• 43:36Speaker 06

  Right.

• 43:36Ryan Clark?

  But we also have to realize, when we do have a microphone, when we do have a platform,

• 43:40Speaker 06

  You gotta do right by it.

• 43:41Ryan Clark?

  the way those things are scrutinized based on history. So when you look at that, what are you trying to do as you go forward? Whether you play another down or you don't?

• 43:50Speaker 06

  Right.

• 43:51Ryan Clark?

  To change the perception of the way people see you, which eventually, and which kind of, because of who you are, will change the way people see us.

• 44:00Speaker 06

  I, I, I can't control how people see us because that's, that's a personal thing.

• 44:07Speaker 06

  But I will do right by the influence that I do have. Going back to the kids that I do touch on a day to day basis. Every single time a kid sees me,

• 44:18Speaker 06

  I prove to them and let them know that if you commit to the game of football, like I committed to the game of football, it's gonna render you compensation way more than you would ever think. Happiness is compensation. Monetary is compensation. And I'm just gonna use my platform to do that. I'm not here to sit up here and say, "I wanna go on CNN, CNBC and say we don't have it." But I will say, the people that I do impact, I want them to see, man, every time we see Coach Cam, man, he got all these kids there.

• 44:50Ryan Clark?

  Coach Cam.

• 44:50Speaker 06

  You know what I'm saying? Every time, man, Chosen bringing us water, you know, Kamit is over there running around, you know, Kuti is over there doing this, doing that. Look how he dressed, bro, he fr- man, Cam, "Hey, what type of shoes them is? What type of distance that is? Hey, how much that car costs, Coach?" "Hey, come and..." And I'm showing them that, "Bro, you ain't gotta rob, you ain't gotta steal, you ain't gotta trap. This was my trap." You feel what I'm saying? I committed that a long time. Like, I had real gangsters around me when I was even in high school that they would never allow me to smoke weed. They'll beat my ass. So, the thing that's different in this time, you got guys that got too many yes men around. I'm like, "Bro, Chan, bro, you tripping, bro? The [__] is you doing?" "Cam, bruh, uh-uh, you doing too much, dawg."

• 45:34Speaker 06

  I got people, my family, still to this day, "Bruh, uh-uh." "Cam, hey, your Uber outside, bro." "No, no, no, I already got your keys, bro. You ain't even doing that." I don't even drink, I drink wine. Like, my, my energy is so, ah, that people think, like, "Man, he drunk, he off something." I'm like, "No, bro, that's just me. Never took a sip of alcohol in my life, outside of wine." So, you know, with that, ah, just like how Tim Jackson was to me, I then wanna be a blessing and a servant to others to say, like, "Man, Cam, bro, I wanna be just like Cam." And I, it's oftentimes, I, I did it with my children. I even do it with the kids on, on, on 707. And I'm like, "Bro, y'all, how much y'all think a lot of money is?"

• 46:20Speaker 06

  Five thousand. I said, "Hey, Fat," that's my assistant, my first cousin. I said, "Go get my bag real quick." He said, "How much you said? How much you think?" "Twenty thousand." "Five thousand." I said, "Bro, that's that right here."

• 46:33Speaker 00

  Mr. President, my company formed me of the explosion on our rig on October 2nd. Causing massive water displacement and triggering a tsunami. They all heap the blame on me.

• 46:42Speaker 01

  Tom Cruise is. Digger got us into this mess, and Digger's gonna dig us up. From the director of Birdman and The Revenant.

• 46:49Speaker 02

  What would happen if I stopped going? You stop, you freeze in there, that's what.

• 46:53Speaker 01

  With great power comes great deniability.

• 46:57Speaker 02

  I'm not the first daddy.

• 46:58Speaker 01

  Digger, see the trailer online, only in theaters October 2nd. Rated R, under seventeen, not a minute without parent.

• 47:05Speaker 06

  Oh, man. I said, "No, no, no, no, no, no." I did this off football. I was disciplined off football. That's what got me that. See what I'm saying? Everything that you see me, I did it the right way, and I was the best at it. Everywhere that I was in my life, I won and did it at a high level. So that's what makes this next situation so exciting to me. Whether I play football or not play football, I'm still a businessman. I'm gonna do that at a high level. I got national championships. I got, uh, uh, you know.

• 47:40Fred Taylor?

  I'm gonna pause you for a second, because you don't have to say that.

• 47:43Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 47:43Fred Taylor?

  Let me say it for you. Freddie Flowers time. Right. I'm gonna jump in, and I'll be quick, man, because, uh, as you said, regardless of the sometimes negative narrative that might be painted

• 47:55Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 47:55Fred Taylor?

  by uncontrollable circumstances, that's the age we live in. Everything is visible, that's gonna happen. But you stood in the fire.

• 48:03Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 48:03Fred Taylor?

  You know, we just had Ghost on, and he spoke about standing in the fire and coming out of that. You've done that. You could have been one of those same guys that, after the incident that happened in 2008, which was years ago, that you've grown and learned a lot from. You could have been one of those guys that went back home and ended up on the corner. And we wouldn't be here today. But because we are, man, you mentioned the Heisman Trophy winner. People forget about that. National championship. The first pick in the draft, overall pick, Rookie of the Year. The only NFL rookie to throw for 400 yards in his debut. One of four black MVPs. But not only that, you the first one to outright win it after Steve McNair.

• 48:47Speaker 06

  Yes, sir.

• 48:48Fred Taylor?

  You've done, you've done a ton, man. You led a team to the Super Bowl. I mean, league MVP in 2015, right?

• 48:54Speaker 06

  15, yeah. Crazy.

• 48:58Fred Taylor?

  I mean, you're an icon 100% in our community.

• 49:01Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 49:02Fred Taylor?

  You know, regardless of these takes and punches, that fire going, that flame is gonna eventually dissolve. You know, and then it'll come back, but you're gonna always walk out on the other end. I think you gotta be proud of that.

• 49:15Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 49:16Fred Taylor?

  Proud?

• 49:17Speaker 06

  I stand on that every single day. But I'm not the one to remind people. I'm just the, I'm the person that's gonna come to your level and speak your level. You know what I'm saying? Which goes even further back to the tone where it's like, bro, I, I, Pop, I can't change. I'm in too deep. You know what I'm saying? I feel like Alpo, I feel like Escobar. You know what I'm saying? I'm in too deep. Because if I change now, it's gonna be a whole generation that's gonna say, oh, man, Cam was a fraud. You ain't gonna see that with me. And I'm telling you, it's like, bro, you wanna be, we wanna be gangster? You wanna be this, you wanna be that? Or the, the common goal is, has always been to get as much money as you possibly can.

• 50:02Speaker 06

  You feel me? And doing it as legal as possible. And for me, I, I said, I said it then and I say it now, like, bro, I did everything at a high level. And I'd never want people to, to see me as a, a boisterous person. But... I'm taking my time to see the next Cam, to see the next DeShawn, to see the next Lamar, to see these, you know, minority people to say, "Bro, you can do the same thing." And I'm more empowered by the Josh Allens, by the Aaron Rodgers. When Tom Brady signed that deal, I'm like, "How? Damn, I wanna go get 375, too." Somebody come buy Friday, damn it, you know what I'm saying? But it is what it is. I don't look at that as hate. I look at that as a competitive drive to say,

• 50:47Speaker 06

  "Bro, I want that."

• 50:48Fred Taylor?

  We talked about it briefly. I asked Ryan, the Mr. ESPN, and he does great, he does amazing on the pivot, too. I asked him, "Do you think Cam can be in that seat?" He said, "100%, without a doubt." It was a question I asked yesterday. I believe him.

• 51:02Speaker 06

  But for me, though, and I never wanna bring down certain platforms because y'all platform the pivot. When you really understand what the pivot is, it's genius.

• 51:15Fred Taylor?

  It's deep.

• 51:15Speaker 06

  Real deep. It's heavy. But for me and my platform, I don't just wanna appease to athletes. You know what I'm saying? I wanna appease to everybody. I wanna have, you know, congressman. I wanna have Instagram model. I wanna have stripper. I wanna have mayor. I wanna have movie star. I wanna have athlete. Talking about real-life issues because, you know, there was a ad a couple of years ago where Charles Barkley was like, "I'm not a role model."

• 51:48Ryan Clark?

  Talked about it on the show.

• 51:49Speaker 06

  You know what I'm saying? But the truth is, you're not a role model, but a lot of people look up to you. And I understand that, too. I may not be a role model, but it's a lot of people that take my aesthetic and try to implement it in their everyday life. So therefore, I have to do right with the platform that I'm given. So they never have asked Ryan, they never asked Chan, or, you know, you, Fred, to be like, "Hey, bro, like, what you do with your first check?" You know what I'm saying? "Hey, how did you feel about the I Am Athlete situation?" "Hey, bro, like, how do you know when you got the right woman in your corner, right man in your corner?" You know what I'm saying? And it's a lot of people that's living behind the shadows and saying, "Oh, I gotta be politically correct." Man, politically correct. I understand we are in a very sensitive time,

• 52:34Speaker 06

  and you have to empathize with a lot of people. But, you know, I'm seeing a situation where it's like... I seen this on the meme the other day. In our community right now... A well-known rapper, rappers got locked up for the Rico act. I'm saying, man, shit, what's the Ku Klux Klan in?

• 52:53Ryan Clark?

  Yeah.

• 52:54Speaker 06

  If that ain't Rico, what the fuck are we talking about?

• 52:58Speaker 06

  You know what I'm saying? So, it's, it's, it's really, it's, it's, it's not giving us something. Just, just keep everything equal, bro, and see what we do with that, with that deck of cards. Going back to the time, man, you give me a lot of other people's deck of cards, bro. I'm looking at my hand like, ah, I got one in a possible. But I'm gonna make this money. You know what I'm saying?

• 53:19Ryan Clark?

  We can't even go board.

• 53:21Channing Crowder?

  But listen, but even, even past that, the, with the marijuana becoming legal, and it's a bunch of brothers in jail for, for an ounce of weed, and now everybody can sell it and make money because they can monetize it. But past that, is Cam Newton prepared to not play football anymore?

• 53:43Speaker 06

  I was prepared, honestly,

• 53:49Speaker 06

  when the Panthers cut me the first time.

• 53:52Channing Crowder?

  Before New England?

• 53:53Speaker 06

  Before New England.

• 53:54Channing Crowder?

  You was cool just to hang it up?

• 53:56Speaker 06

  Ah, man, cool.

• 53:57Fred Taylor?

  I think financially, yeah. But from a competitive?

• 54:01Channing Crowder?

  That, no.

• 54:01Fred Taylor?

  That fire still burns.

• 54:03Channing Crowder?

  I love Freddie. The money, bro, you just said it. You said you can call me, you, what'd he say earlier? You can call me every day, but you can't call me broke. Bro, you know we got bread, we all got bread.

• 54:12Speaker 06

  Yeah.

• 54:12Channing Crowder?

  But you know that you can play. You just said, you think you're the best 32 quarterbacks in the world. That has to die before you retire.

• 54:22Speaker 06

  It has, it has not. It has not. It has not. And I'd be lying to you to say that I don't, man, it brings me to tears, you know, my production company is here watching this too, and it's like, man, I got footage, bro, that'll bring me to tears. When I walked out of that tunnel, when they introduced me. This past year, bro, it's like, man, I ain't, I'm not ready to give this up. That desire that. Fuck boy, ay! Fuckin' what my fuck, you know what, ay! Ay, coach, stop getting cute. Let's go. Come on, that would never, that would never leave.

• 55:00Ryan Clark?

  That just got me a little fired up. Just like, we did night.

• 55:03Speaker 06

  I got a little fired up. Spin that motherf- And you point like, man, that shit would never leave. Like, should I go into the damn end zone like y'all know what's coming? You know.

• 55:13Ryan Clark?

  Right.

• 55:13Speaker 06

  Come on. Like, it never leaves. But financially, where a lot of us make a mistake is not controlling your funds. And where in my establishment right now? I'm not renting this, I'm not leasing this, this mine. I'm about to open up another one. You know what I'm saying? And I got other business ventures that I said here recently in a Friday interview, where it's like, people in my position always get penalized because they're not rich enough.

• 55:51Speaker 06

  And I say that because there's been a lot of people who have the coin and said what I say, or more aggressive than like, why the, why do you say some like that? But he rich. And you know, bro, you take that deal off.

• 56:10Speaker 06

  Come on, I'm by the top of my PJ and I got 99 problems and the media ain't one. You know what I'm saying? Once you get to that financial freedom where it's just like, bro, I can do what I want. I know my heart and I say this, I know my heart, man. I know why I'm here on this earth and that's to impact and empower people. Whether I see you ever, whether you speak to me ever, I just know like, you need people like me. You know what I'm saying? That's unapologetically themselves and I'm using it in the right, in the right light. And I pray to God to say like, God, man, give me the strength. Give me the discernment that I need.

• 56:54Speaker 06

  Bring people in my life that's gonna align with my intentions. So I can't hang out with, like, when you see me, man, it's gonna be me. I ain't pulling up with, you know, I say it all the time. If I can't pull up with my girl, or I can't pull up with my doggone kids, you're not gonna see me. I'm gonna be by myself. I'm not the dude to hang out with seven to eight people. That's, that's, to me, that's weakness. Know what I'm saying? But if you do, that's still fortunate. That's your prerogative. I ain't calling you weak. I'm just saying that's my preference.

• 57:25Ryan Clark?

  In the, in the end, you know, there are these misperceptions of who you are. I've always been a huge advocate, you know, ever since you ran out in front of me in Carolina and I realized that my time was coming to an end. Because I was like, if D N is playing quarterback, this five foot 11, 195 pound safety.

• 57:45Speaker 06

  That big bitch come out.

• 57:46Ryan Clark?

  Yeah, he finna be.

• 57:49Speaker 06

  You gonna think, you gonna think twice.

• 57:50Ryan Clark?

  Like he said on fourth and one, I'm gonna think about it.

• 57:53Speaker 06

  You know what's happening.

• 57:54Ryan Clark?

  You know what I mean?

• 57:54Speaker 06

  You know what's happening.

• 57:55Ryan Clark?

  In, in the end, though, Cam, for, for you, what do you want to be said about Cam Newton, the man, as you move into what is, honestly, a new chapter of your life, whether you play or not?

• 58:13Speaker 06

  Frank Sinatra said it best.

• 58:17Speaker 06

  I did it my way, baby. I did it my way. A lot of, a lot of what I'm seeing today, it's a lot of Cam's and a lot of, it's, it's, it's a lot of impact that I made. And I'm not gonna speak on it. I don't even need the, the credit. I, I look at that and I'm like, bro, man, you doing it, bro. You doing it at a high level. And if you can say that, then your impact has, has, has been, has been conquered. But I, I want to ask you this. And I always ask people, what's more important? Championships or impact?

• 59:00Speaker 06

  Impact. Impact, without a doubt. Impact. Hundred percent impact. Because we've been around players that been like, "Brother, man, I got four, you know, Super Bowl rings and just..." You was on that team? "Yeah, bro, I was on that team, dawg. I got four here. You want one of these?" "Yeah, I want one, but I want you to know that I was on that team." "I got championships and NBA Finals, dah dah dah dah." But I'm like, Allen Iverson ain't never won a doggone... But there, you see a lot of Allen Iverson in a lot of these basketball players. Dog. Markley. Come on. Same way. Yeah. You feel Michael Vick? Dog. Come on. Trascendent.

• 59:41Speaker 06

  I mean, bro, if it wasn't for certain people to have that impact, there wouldn't be no Cam.

• 59:50Speaker 06

  And it was all in God's plan to say, "Look, bro, yeah, you went to the Super Bowl, you seen the highest of the highs, but you didn't win." What high... If you ask me, "Do I want a Super Bowl?", absolutely. But my impact on the field and off the field was felt. And that's what it's all about. And once you understand that, and once you... You no longer have to grieve or trying to prove to people like, "Oh, my God, but it's me, it's this and that." Then I can confidently say, "Change the narrative of the top 10." That's what they... That's gonna be the argument. There ain't 32 other motherfuckers that's better than me.

• 1:00:30Speaker 06

  And once you go about it like that and saying, "Bro, my impact is my gift, and my impact is my curse." Because they do know, when you bring a Cam Newton to your organization, it's gonna be a monster in itself. "Put Cam in, put..."

• 1:00:47Speaker 06

  And I'm not the per... You can never find a coach, you can never find a player, you can never find a person in the office that says, "Cam was a cancer."

• 1:00:58Speaker 06

  I use my influence in a positive way. Now, am I supposed to apologize for my impact being as big as it is? Absolutely not.

• 1:01:10Ryan Clark?

  Man, listen, this was, I think the one thing we've been trying to do on The Pivot, kinda like you said what you want to do is, it's not necessarily about the player, or the artist, or what they do for a living, it's about how they live. And I think what you've given us is how you live. Talked about being a father, you talked about your impact on young people, and that's what's important to us. So, on behalf of The Pivot, Channing, Fred, Happy Dad, our sponsors, man, thank you so much for giving us your time, allowing us in your place, man, it was beautiful. Yes, sir. My guy. Stay eligible, B. Stay eligible. One finger, one finger, one thumb, baby. Oh, yeah, appreciate you, boy. All right, baby. Always love, you know that. Hell, boy.

• 1:02:18Speaker 07

  Now, more than ever, we need someone on our side. But Rob Whitman? Whitman's votes drove up costs, cut Medicaid, and risked 350,000 Virginians' health care to pay for tax breaks for himself and his donors. He's not on our side. Shannon Taylor will fight corruption, cut taxes, and bring down costs. This November, vote for Shannon Taylor. She's for us. Paid for by HMP, theHouseMajorityPact.com. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.