Former NFL quarterback Cam Newton has responded to the Texas Tech ball boy-Shedeur Sanders incident that has been trending on social media in recent days. Speaking on his 4th & 1 podcast, Newton discussed the viral moment and defended Sanders’ role in the incident.
In the video analyzed by the former NFL Most Valuable Player, the Texas Tech ball boy appears to try and knock the ball out of Shilo Sanders’ hand after returning a fumble recovery for a touchdown. After this action is taken, Shedeur can be seen confronting the ball boy, clearly surprised at what has just taken place.
What Is Cam Newton’s Take On the Incident?
Upon watching and reviewing the clip, Newton states, “that little poor ball boy” and continues by detailing how it was a “goofy” decision for the Texas Tech ball boy to create a situation out of nothing.
.@CameronNewton's got a message for the Texas Tech ball boy who pulled some 'goofy ISH" on the Sanders boys 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/nwQBOjWhPt
— 4th&1 with Cam Newton (@4thand1show) November 20, 2024
As is clear in the aforementioned video and corroborated by Newton, there was little need for the Red Raiders ball boy to attempt to knock the ball out of Sanders’ hand. As is customary in football after touchdowns, the scoring team will celebrate, something that sometimes includes antics with the football, such as a spike or dunk through the goalposts.
Following this, the team will usually either hand the ball back to the officials or ball boy, or depending on the situation and milestone, keep the ball. In this case, there was no need for the Texas Tech employee to attempt to take the ball before the touchdown celebration had been completed. Sanders was not doing anything disrespectful to the fans at Jones AT&T Stadium when the ball was forcefully removed from his grasp.
In context, the Colorado Buffaloes were closing in on a dominating 41-27 victory over Texas Tech at the time of the incident. However, as someone employed by the university and the football program to handle official gameday duties, the actions of the ball boy were irresponsible, unprofessional, and unnecessary.
While it is unclear whether further action will be taken against the individual who created the viral incident with the Sanders brothers, it is clear that the one-time NFL MVP believes the ball boy’s actions and behavior to be ridiculous and “goofy.”
With this bizarre of a situation, fans unsurprisingly decided to head over to social media to provide their feedback. It is safe to say that they did not feel as kind towards the Texas Tech ball boy as Newton did.
“Smacking the winning game ball out of a player’s hand and then playing the victim. Interesting”, one fan tweeted.
that was not his job, they had every right to @ him
— Nuke Rockwell (@Tradingheavy) November 11, 2024
“That was not his job, they had every right to @ him” added another.
“Ball boy definitely over did it by smacking the ball but the response was over the top too by Sanders Jr,” said another fan, trying to look at both sides of the situation.
As the 2025 NFL Draft approaches, everything Shedeur does will now be examined under an incredibly powerful microscope. Accordingly, this is just another example of something that was probably not a big deal being overblown because of who was involved.