Final Score: Cam Newton 1, Butch the Bulldog 0
It’s safe to say Friday’s episode of ESPN’s “First Take” was one for the ages—and for all the wrong reasons. Former NFL MVP Cam Newton, who has spent the past few years making headlines off the field rather than on it, found himself in the middle of another bizarre spectacle — this time, throwing hands with a mascot on live television.
The show was broadcasting live from the Magic City Classic festivities in Birmingham, Alabama, where the annual Alabama A&M vs. Alabama State rivalry game was being celebrated. As part of the pregame fun, the schools’ mascots — Butch the Bulldog (Alabama A&M) and Stinger the Hornet (Alabama State) — participated in a sprint race.
After Butch was outpaced by Stinger, things took a turn for the chaotic. Newton, standing nearby and apparently feeling some type of way about the Bulldogs’ poor showing, playfully — or perhaps not so playfully — confronted Butch on the stage. Cameras caught the moment when Newton shoved the mascot, which escalated into a full-on scuffle that left both tumbling near the set. The crowd laughed, but Newton didn’t seem to be in on the joke.
Witnesses say the retired quarterback, who last played in the NFL in 2021, was “acting like a fool” in the minutes leading up to the fight — dancing around, hyping up the crowd, and loudly insisting that “he could still play right now” if given the chance. When Butch jokingly wagged a finger at him, Newton reportedly snapped back, “Don’t start none, won’t be none,” before the mock fight broke out.
While ESPN quickly cut to commercial, social media was already ablaze. Clips of the “fight” flooded X (formerly Twitter), with fans divided over whether Newton was joking or genuinely frustrated.
Butch, for his part, appeared to take the hit in stride — or as much as a 50-pound foam bulldog head allows. “All love to Cam,” Alabama A&M’s social media team posted afterward. “But our Dawg’s record against former NFL MVPs is now 0-1.”
This isn’t Newton’s first run-in with on-screen conflict. The former Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots quarterback famously clashed with teammate Josh Norman during a 2015 Panthers training camp brawl — a fight so intense it became legend among NFL fans.
Newton’s combat résumé doesn’t stop there. In 2023, he appeared on FOX’s “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test”, where he knocked out Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian during a boxing challenge. And earlier in 2024, he reportedly took on multiple challengers during a viral charity event in Atlanta — and won.
So, when Butch the Bulldog squared up, maybe the mascot didn’t realize what he was getting into.
As for Newton, this latest episode adds another bizarre chapter to his unpredictable post-NFL journey. Whether he’ll face any consequences remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: the Magic City Classic got a whole lot more memorable this year — thanks to Cam Newton versus a guy in a dog suit.
