The Tennessee Titans were none-too-pleased when Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton went into a full dance-a-thon after scoring a touchdown on Sunday at Nissan Field.
Cam Newton is just clowning 😂 pic.twitter.com/N2OUEqocjM
— Athlete Swag (@AthleteSwag) November 15, 2015
While some folks shared in the Titans’ displeasure of Newton’s extended celebration that the team considered to be borderline taunting, others enjoyed Newton’s snazzy moves.
Weighing in on the controversial celebratory dance, Panthers’ head coach Ron Rivera shared his thoughts, via Lindsay Rhodes of NFL.com.
“I think if it was anything, it might’ve been too long. I understand the celebration. Probably one of the things that he does during the celebration — I think that’s probably one of the neat things — is he takes the ball and he gives it to a worthy fan. I think that’s one of the things that we’re trying to make sure gets focused in on a little bit more and that is the opportunity to go up there and give the ball to one of our young fans that have come out and watched us play.”
Rivera obviously played it safe in his response by focusing on the fact that Newton generously gives a touchdown ball to a deserving fan.
Unless Newton’s celebrations actually reach taunting territory, which is worthy of a fine, it is the job of the opposing team’s defense to prevent him from scoring, after all.
Like Newton says,
“I’m a firm believer if you don’t like it, keep me out (of the end zone).”
Newton has scored 21 total touchdowns so far this season, putting him on pace to finish the season with approximately 37. With that said, be prepared for more of Newton’s “too long” end-zone dance antics, or simply turn off your television if you’re not fan.