Jim Fassel says he knew the Panthers would lose because of Cam Newton’s gold ‘MVP’ shoes

Cam Newton has been criticized for his effort during the Super Bowl. He’s been criticized for leaving his postgame press conference early. Now he’s even being criticized for what he wore during pregame warmups. Newton wore gold shoes before the game with “MVP” on the tongue.

That was a troubling sign for former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel. In an interview with Mile High Sports 1340 AM, Fassel said the gold shoes were a sign that Newton had “become soft.” In fact, before seeing the shoes, Fassel thought the Panthers would win, but changed his mind because of Newton’s shoes.

“When I saw Cam Newton walk out in gold shoes, MVP,€” I switched my mind, essentially, right then,” Fassel said. “I said, ‘That’s not what a starting quarterback, MVP, leading his team, and I had a lot of respect for him during the season, that’s not what happens.’ You don’t do that.”

Newton wore custom shoes during warmups multiple times this season -- including a pair with all of his teammate’s names on them. He just happened to win the NFL MVP award on Saturday and broke out the MVP cleats on Sunday. To Fassel that was a sign Newton had gone soft, and Fassel went on to say Newton played soft in the game including when he didn’t attempt to jump on a fumble.

If Newton wasn’t going up against the best defense in the NFL -- and one of the best in recent memory -- the shoes probably wouldn’t have been a problem.

(H/T Pro Football Talk)

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