The Carolina Panthers the year before they picked Cam Newton with the first overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft were not a very good football team. They went 2-14 under John Fox and fielded one of the worst offenses you'll see with Jimmy Clausen at the helm.

When I was the first pick, I went into a locker room of losers. Guys didn’t know how to win. Guys didn’t know how to prepare. It was a culture shock for me.”

That was certainly the case for Newton when he entered the league in 2011. The previous year was a brutal slog for the Panthers, as they finished with a 2-14 record, which was bad enough to get John Fox fired as head coach.

Newton is a growing media presence who said in November he was hurt when he wasn’t invited to join Smith, Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis and other former players in Germany when the Panthers played the New York Giants. Newton caused a stir in January by saying he would not give back his MVP award for a Super Bowl championship.

Former Carolina Panthers quarterback and 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton recently said that he inherited a "locker room of losers" in his 2011 rookie season. This prompted former Panthers wide receiver and two-time All-Pro Steve Smith Jr.

Former Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera has weighed in on Cam Newton’s controversial comments about the Carolina Panthers’ locker room in 2011. Ron Rivera Gives His Thoughts on Cam Newton’s Comments Newton,

The Carolina Panthers experienced a great deal of success under Cam Newton and Ron Rivera. The team made multiple playoff appearances and advanced to a Super Bowl in the same year that Newton was named MVP.