Cam Newton criticism is unfounded, has racial undertones, says Warren Moon

Cam Newton's faced criticism for his sophomore slump, but Warren Moon says it's unfounded. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has been at the center of a lot of criticism for shaky play and the team's 1-5 start. But Hall of Fame quarterback and Newton's mentor, Warren Moon, thinks much of it is unfounded, according to Yahoo! Sports:

"I think a lot of this is because so many people want to say 'I told you so' about him, but couldn't because he was so good last year," Moon said. "I think people are overreacting. How can he be a bust? He just had one of the great years a rookie has ever had, and now he can't play? Come on."

Moon also alluded to the fact that there were racist undertones to a lot of the comparisons and blame Newton was facing:

"I don't understand it," Moon said. "I heard somebody compare him to Vince Young. It's the same old crap – it's always a comparison of one black to another black. I get tired of it. I get tired of defending it…. If you want to compare him to someone because of his demeanor, compare him to Jay Cutler. There are a lot of guys who whine and moan. Cam's not biting anybody's head off or pushing his linemen. He's just disgruntled, and not handling losing well, because, think about it, he basically didn't lose in college."

Newton's numbers are down slightly from his rookie season (231.2 yards per game and a 79.3 rating so far in 2012, 253.2 yards per game and a 84.5 rating in 2011), but the majority of the criticism stems from his emotional reactions.

"Cam's an emotional player. He needs to learn to saddle that. If I was to talk to him – and I need to give him a call – I would tell him his demeanor's got to change in the face of adversity."