Stephen A. Smith Apologizes To Cam Newton

Stephen A. Smith has apologized to Cam Newton for the role that First Take and The Stephen A. Smith Show played in the backlash Newton received over his opinions on Brock Purdy. "Whether we agree or disagree with your dissection of Brock Purdy, what that [debate] deteriorated into was whether you had the right to say that. And I just want to say on national TV...I want to apologize for that," Smith told Newton.

Newton has been getting a lot of hate for saying that Brock Purdy was not a "game changer" but a "game manager". It's a point he even made prior to smith's apology. Newton said he trusted Purdy on a game-winning Super Bowl drive because he trusted Purdy's resources. However, many people questioned what "right" Newton, who hasn't played since 2021, had to make that call given what he had achieved in his own career.

Shannon Sharpe Questions Whether Cam Newton Is Serious About Returning To The NFL

Meanwhile, Newton's ambition of potentially returning to the NFL got a reality check in the form of Shannon Sharpe. Sharpe used an audience Q&A for the 4th And 1 podcast to reveal how he feels about Newton, who was joining him on the show, wanting to be back in the NFL. Shannon's point boiled down to one key factor - is Newton ready to sacrifice everything to back into the NFL? "You gotta train like Auburn Cam, when you didn't have a cent. That's the level you gotta train at that level. And that's something that only Cam can answer."

Unfortunately, for Cam, it appeared that he was not prepared to make that level of sacrifice. Instead, Newton tried to argue that he was allowed to have preferences and conditions about his return. Furthermore, he tried to mount the argument that his willingness to compromise on his role and expectations was an adequate replacement for sacrifice.

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