Former NFL MVP Cam Newton did not want to pursue criminal charges after being involved in a large brawl during a football event in Atlanta over the weekend, authorities said Wednesday.
The former Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots quarterback was captured on video getting into a scuffle with several people during a “We Ball Sports” 7-on-7 tournament Sunday at BEST Academy’s athletic field, according to Atlanta police.
Atlanta Public Schools spokesman Seth Coleman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday that “a third party rented the BEST Academy athletic field and hosted the event. Atlanta police provided on-site security at the request of the third party.”
While it’s unclear what started the brawl on Northwest Drive, several videos appeared to show Newton and two men holding onto each other near a tent at the inaugural event, as someone comes up and punches him from behind.
Newton, who was listed as 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds during his playing days, is captured trying to fend off several people as the brawl moves toward a nearby fence. Staff members and a police officer are then seen breaking up the fight.
According to an incident report, an Atlanta police officer working the tournament said he was watching a game that afternoon when he heard a noise coming from behind him. He turned around and saw people scurrying in all directions.
At the top of the stairs about 60 feet away, the officer said he noticed several men grabbing and clinging to one another. He recognized Newton “because of his hat and hairstyle,” the incident report stated. Soon after, the group disappeared out of view, and the brawl was over by the time the officer arrived at the top of the stairs.
Police said officers intervened and separated the people involved, some of whom fled from the area afterward.
“It was later discovered that among the involved persons were NFL quarterback Cam Newton and his flag football teammates,” police said.
Newton did not require medical attention or want to “pursue criminal charges,” police added.
Users on social media claimed that Newton, a former Westlake High School star, was fending off members of “TSP Crew,” or TopShelf Performance, a team that was playing in the tournament. Newton’s C1N 15-and-under team won the championship at the event.
Newton last played in the NFL in 2021 as a member of the Panthers, the franchise that took him first overall in the 2011 draft. In 2015, he led Carolina to a 15-1 record and a Super Bowl appearance but lost to the Denver Broncos.
In January, he teased on the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” that he would only return to the NFL if it was with the Falcons in his hometown of Atlanta.
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