Cam Newton, a onetime NFL MVP, provoked the fight that broke out between him and several other men at a recent 7-on-7 youth football tournament in Atlanta, according to two coaches involved in the melee. In a statement shared with USA Today, TopShelf Performance said that its youth team had beaten Newton’s team at a Saturday game, after which the former Carolina Panther approached two of its coaches, brothers TJ and Steph Brown, to taunt them about his money and skills. Newton then grabbed Steph “by his jacket trying to choke him,” TopShelf alleged. Steph punched Newton in response “and the situation as a whole escalated,” the company claimed. In a Tuesday interview with an Atlanta radio station, the Browns repeated the claim that Newton had been “talking junk” during the weekend tournament. “Nobody seen like how he was talking crazy to us past two days,” TJ said. The brothers were familiar with Newton’s abrasive style, he added, having previously coached alongside the former quarterback. “It’s nothing new. I’ve been around bro for five years, so like this typical Cam Newton behavior.”
