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When Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady shut down CJ Gardner-Johnson’s locker room live stream, it unlocked a lot of criticism against the veteran safety. One of the biggest criticisms came from former NFL quarterback Cam Newton on his 4th&1 podcast, where he called the stream a “breach of privacy” and called out Gardner-Johnson for jeopardizing the team’s “sacred and confidential conversations.” CJ heard that and decided to do something about it.

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A few days ago, CJ took to his Instagram to post a story, calling out Cam Newton for his take, while also taking a shot at 4th&1 co-host Peggy.

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“Now, I’m going to say this about Cam Newton,” CJ Gardner-Johnson said on his story. “We all looked up to you and wore your cleats as a kid. You feel me? We want to be Superman. But you really need to stop doing what you’re doing. I see why ESPN did what they did. You don’t get your facts straight. You’re calling people names off [what] your heart is saying. Like, that’s not cool, Cam.

“I’m not even a fan of you no more. You put me on a trophy, calling me a goofy, but you don’t want to call my phone like a grown a** man. And this has been a topic all week to me streaming, and it hasn’t been a problem. So I truly don’t respect what you did for content for clickbait. You or Peggy. I don’t respect the guy whose name is Peggy. Sorry Peggy. One thing I did do before Cam Newton did is win the Super Bowl, and I never folded.”

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The ESPN line might have hit a little too close to home for Cam. The network underwent a massive shift last month through a series of layoffs that struck some of its biggest personalities like Ryan Clark, Tom Pelissero, and Newton himself. Since ESPN’s merger with the NFL, the roster of NFL Network came under the network’s umbrella, and they couldn’t keep everyone.

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By letting go of prominent names drawing high salaries, ESPN managed to save around $16 million in annual salaries. Newton was making about $2 million annually for his role with the network, but that payroll wasn’t the only reason he got laid off.

His polarizing stances on First Take were already raising eyebrows within the network, and his independent podcast 4th&1 didn’t help matters either. On his podcast, he’d notably hosted media critic Jason Whitlock, who, in turn, called out First Take’s Stephen A. Smith multiple times. Newton didn’t push back on that take very much, prompting Smith to call out Newton for not defending his colleague. The contract and the internal strife all combined to end Newton’s stint with ESPN.

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As for CJ Gardner-Johnson, Joe Brady himself has gone on the record saying the locker room stream “was not a concern,” citing instead the standards he wants everyone to uphold in his team. Since then, CJ has pushed back on the criticism multiple times, while also noting that he’s all-in with the Bills. But Newton’s comments seemed to have pushed him over the edge, making him call out the very quarterback he once idolized.

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Utsav Jain

1,511 Articles

Utsav Jain is an NFL GameDay Features Writer at EssentiallySports, specializing in delivering engaging, in-depth coverage from the ES Social SportsCenter Desk. With a background in Journalism and Mass Communication and extensive experience in digital media, he skillfully combines sharp insights with compelling storytelling to bring readers closer to the game. Utsav excels at capturing the nuances of locker room dynamics, game-day plays, and the deeper meanings behind the moments that define NFL seasons. Known for his creative approach, Utsav believes that in today’s sports world, even a single emoji by a player can tell a powerful story. His work goes beyond traditional reporting to decode these subtle signals, offering fans a richer, more connected experience.

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Godwin Issac Mathew

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