Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton defended his decision to rip down a Green Bay Packers banner before his team’s 37-29 home victory Sunday.
Newton said after the game that the crowd at Bank of America Stadium sometimes felt like a hostile environment because there were so many Green Bay fans.
The banner had a green map of North Carolina with the Green Bay logo in the middle and the words “North Carolina Cheesehead.”
“We take pride in having an edge in playing in Bank of America Stadium, of playing in front of the Carolinas each and every week,” Newton said Sunday. “I feel it’s my due diligence to protect this house. It wasn’t just about tearing down a sign. It was respect.
“We played in Green Bay last year, and I didn’t see no ‘This is Panthers Country’ sign in their stadium. I was passing. The sign was dangling. Either somebody was going to take it off, or I take it off.
“It’s no disrespect to nobody. It’s just more of a respect to the stadium. We all know gangs, we all know territories, we all know businesses … you’re not about to sit up here and sell a Whopper at a McDonald’s.”
The owner of the banner told stadium police it was stolen, according to the Fayetteville Observer. He said he paid $500 to have the banner made and wants it back.
“I was just shocked, shocked,” the fan, Mike Dobs of Fayetteville, told the newspaper of his reaction when Newton grabbed the banner from him.
Dobs added that a Panthers employee said the team would make it up to him.
Banners are allowed in Bank of America stadium, but must comply with various NFL guidelines. Dobs told the newspaper that the banner was pre-approved by the stadium.
“We were on the front row, over there by the goalposts, and we wanted our grandkids to see us on TV,” Dobs said. “We thought he was going to sign our banner — we were happy to see him — and he ripped it out of our hands.”