Doesn’t he just look pitiful?
The Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers played in Super Bowl fifty, and the game was exciting to say the least. There were mixed emotions from the fans when the Broncos won. But Cam Newton, quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, did not take the loss well. At an interview after the game Newton wore his hood up, was very unresponsive, and did not want to talk. His words were very blunt, and did not carry meaning past their literal intent. According to Brinson (http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25477125/watch-cam-newton-abruptly-leaves-super-bowl-50-postgame-interview) (2016), who is a NFL writer for CBS sports, Cam said things like “We lost.”, and “We got outplayed.” Losing the Super Bowl with intentions of winning is probably very difficult to handle.
Cam did not have a good image of self-concept in the interview, and by extension he did not have good self-esteem. Franzoi (2012), author of Social Psychology, defines self-concept as the entire collective of thoughts and behaviors that someone has with which to define self as an object. Because self-concept is about both mental and behavioral states, it would be important then for someone to understand both these concepts to understand self. Franzoi (2012) defines self-esteem as an evaluation of self-concept. It is understandable that Cam Newton was not happy after losing the Super Bowl, but he allowed his self-concept and self-esteem to go unchecked. His behavior was dark and he obviously was upset.
What made this news however is not that Cam Newton was upset, but the fact that he walked off during the interview. According to Brinson (2016) Newton very abruptly left the interview after about two and a half minutes. The last thing Cam Newton wanted to do was answer questions from reporters. Throughout the entirety of the interview, he did not show signs of public self-consciousness. Which is defined by Franzoi (2012) as basically when someone is aware of public displays. He did not care what people thought of him, and Brinson (2016) says that Newton probably could have saved himself the trouble of being ridiculed, especially by the media and fans by not making a big deal about losing.
It was not clear as to how quickly after the game ended the interview started, but his behavior also could have been a result of not wanting to talk to anyone after the game. The Super Bowl is not only the last game of the season, but it is also the biggest. For that reason, there are many extreme emotions that arise from the outcome of the game. It could be that Newton just did not want to talk to anyone, he just wanted to be left alone. He was not making any effort to control his emotions or misery, and it was pretty obvious.
Most people would probably agree that Newton did not handle himself well at the interview. Regardless of how he acted, the reporters were just as oblivious with their behavior as Newton was. The reporters at the interview had a complete lack of person perception. Franzoi (2012) says that person perception is the way people observe the temporary nonverbal communication of others. There was a lot of negativity aimed at Newton, but the reporters were not targeted because they were seen as just doing their job. It is not obvious in the video of the interview that reporters were aware of Newton’s nonverbal communication, they were merely trying to get him to talk more.
Granted the reporters would probably have been fired for not trying to talk to Newton, but after a few questions the reporters should have realized that he was simply not very willing to answer any questions. If the reporters were exercising any person perception skills, the interview might have been different. There might have been more questions relating to his emotions or something he was nonverbally expressing. If Newton were asked questions not about football he still might have left, but it is hard to tell what would have happened in that situation.
Apparently in Baseball, more specifically the New York Yankees have media training and are making an example of Newton as what not to do, and they are using Russell Wilson as a good example of what to do. Back last year for Super Bowl 49, he took blame for losing the game. Any coach I would image want to see that over what Newton pulled.
Furthermore, Newton does not see anything wrong with how he acted and has no intentions of apologizing. After all, he did nothing wrong right? I’m pretty sure anyone in a “normal” job who acts like that would be fired pretty quickly. Newton thinks that the media blew out of proportion the entirety of what happened, and head coach of the Carolina Panthers, Ron Rivera, says that next time he will need more time to get his emotions together before talking to the media. Apparently he was forced into the media quicker than what he normally is used to.
Lastly, Newton makes the comment basically asking why he has to act responsible while in the presences of the media, and what makes other peoples’ way right and his way wrong. Technically there isn’t a right or wrong way, and many people often choose to act as they please. But socially it will effect attribution, which is basically trying to locate the cause of the behavior. Because if the causes of behavior are always blamed on external reasons, regardless if it is right, it makes people think you act like a spoiled little child. Also socially it also is a sign of the inability to control your own emotions and behavior, also causing people to think you act like a spoiled child. Personally, I really don’t like being around adults who act like spoiled little children. I deal with enough spoiled little children who are actually spoiled little children. http://www.torontosun.com/2016/02/09/cam-newton-wont-apologize-for-post-super-bowl-act
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