Former NFL MVP reveals why he 'always went to strip clubs for guys'

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Cam Newton is not the first big-name athlete who has admitted to spending time at gentleman’s club or two. 

But he might be one of the first to admit to this odd reason that he went there: Newton was doing it out of competition with the guys. 

During an episode of the Funky Friday podcast, the former Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots quarterback made the eyebrow-raising admission, saying he “never went to a strip club for women.

“I always went to strip clubs for guys.”

Taking that statement on its own, it could be fairly easy to misread what Newton meant. The 2015 NFL MVP went on to say that he was only going out with the boys in an effort to one-up them when it comes to splashing some cash. 

“I’m a competitor. I wasn’t gonna spend no money if I didn’t see nobody else spending no money,” Newton said. “As soon as I see somebody thinking that they’ve got money … ‘OK you spending five? I’mma spend six. If you gonna spend 10, I’mma spend 15.’ We’re gonna have a rain off. 

“So that’s my whole thing, I don’t go to strip clubs for chicks even though I want decoration. I was a competitor and still am a competitor to think like … ‘you think you’ve got it, but you don’t got it. That 15 you making, I’mma spend my 15 and I’mma make it back easy.’ It ain’t nothing.” 

Newton was the first overall pick of the 2011 NFL draft and won rookie of the year for the Carolina Panthers. He made three Pro Bowls during his tenure in Carolina and won the 2015 MVP while leading the team to the Super Bowl, where the Panthers lost to the Denver Broncos. 

He spent the 2020 season with the Patriots before returning to the Panthers the following year, but hasn’t played in the NFL since 2021. 

He has 32,382 passing yards, 194 passing touchdowns, 5,628 rushing yards and 75 rushing touchdowns in his career. 

Earlier this year, Newton was caught up in the tussle between several men at a 7-on-7 football tournament where he was coaching.

Video showed Newton taking on a group of men at the “We Ball Sports” 7-on-7 football tournament in Atlanta before being separated by security.

Two men involved in the brawl, TJ and Steph Brown, say that it was Newton who sparked the incident and that tensions had been brewing not just over the weekend, but for quite some time.

In the video, Newton can be seen grabbing and pushing Steph before TJ comes in and throws a punch from behind. From there, the scuffle moves towards a nearby fence as other men enter the fracas and more punches are thrown.

Security then steps in to keep the sides apart.

Newton later apologized, saying he was disappointed in himself for losing control of his emotions.