SEATTLE
Cam Newton was unfit to be tied this weekend, and in so doing the Carolina quarterback created a totally avoidable and embarrassing controversy for a team that did not need another one.
Newton did not wear a necktie on the Panthers team flight to Seattle. He looked dapper as usual in a black turtleneck and matching hat, but he broke a team rule. That was Newton’s mistake, he owned it afterward, and he deserved the punishment given.
Because of Newton’s lack of a necktie – a number of teammates offered to let him borrow one, but he didn’t have a dress shirt handy and didn’t want to wear one with a turtleneck – coach Ron Rivera benched Newton for Carolina’s first offensive series.