Ron Rivera doesn't take exception to Cam Newton's comments

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said he’s on a team where “losing is accepted” but coach Ron Rivera wasn’t concerned because of the context the quote came in.

Speaking to ESPN The Magazine, Newton talked about his burning desire to win, something he certainly did at the college level at Auburn and before that in junior college.

"What happens when you take a lion out of the safari and try to take him to your place of residence and make him a house pet? ... It ain't going to happen," Newton told the magazine.

"That's the type of person that I am. I'm that lion. The house that I'm in is somewhat of a tarnished house where losing is accepted. But I'm trying to change that, whether I' m going to have to turn that house into a safari or I'm just going to have to get out of that house.

"I'm not saying I'm trying to leave this place. I'm just trying to get everybody on my level."

Asked about the remarks, Rivera told the Charlotte Observer he was not upset.

"To me, the thing I like about it more than anything is it's important, it really is," Rivera said, according to Ron Green Jr. "It's the old saying that if you didn't put your heart into it, it wouldn't hurt. He does. He puts everything into it.

"To me, there is no issue. I still struggle when I hear people talking about the stuff with that and the towel and that stuff, it doesn't make sense to me."

Rivera makes a good point but at the same time the guess here is he will encourage Newton to be careful how he portrays his desire to win in the future.

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune

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