Cam Newton embraces criticism in new Gatorade ad (video)

Ahead of Thursday night’s NFL season opener, a couple new ads featuring Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton have been released.

After losing Super Bowl 50, and his brief, petulant-looking post game press conference, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton became an easy lightning rod for criticism. Most of it was well-founded, and his perceived lack of effort to recover a fumble late in the game became another point of criticism.

In case you’ve been under a rock for the last seven months, Newton’s Panthers will start the 2016 NFL regular season Thursday night with a Super Bowl rematch against the Denver Broncos. Ahead of that game, Newton is featured in a new Gatorade ad.

Newton is clearly trying to embrace the criticism he got after the Super Bowl loss, and move on from it by taking it head-on in a public way as a new season gets going. If only he had thought about that in February after the Super Bowl, an ad like this would not really have been necessary.

Newton was, is and will remain a polarizing player and personality. Race may play a role, unfortunately, and for some people nothing he does will ever be good enough. Newton further embraced a “me against the world” notion earlier this week, with the release of a new ad for Under Armour.

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The reigning NFL MVP seems to be looking for motivation anywhere he can get it. Doubters, real or imagined, often serve that purpose for high-level athletes. On that note, it will be interesting to see what Newton has in store for an encore this season.