Steve Smith Sr. fires back at Cam Newton for Panthers 'locker room of losers' comment

The Super Bowl menu was filled with beef and plenty of hate all week long.

As if Kendrick Lamar's halftime show wasn't enough, Cam Newton decided to throw his unique hat into the fire – seemingly slamming his former Carolina Panthers teammates as a bunch of losers during an appearance on Travis Hunter's podcast in the lead-up to Super Bowl 59.

Steve Smith Sr., a former teammate of Newton's, took exception to the comments played in the soundbites. The whole context showed that Newton specifically spoke about the pressures and reality of being the top pick in the draft, something Hunter could very well be in late April.

"You're the top pick because that was the worst team in the NFL the year before," Newton, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft, said. "For me it wasn't just that I wanted to be the No. 1 pick, yes, but understanding if I'm going to the worst team, our guys in the locker room ready to win right now."

Newton went on to explain how C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels' rookie performances in each of the last two seasons are more of an outlier, but have a better chance to impact the game given their position.

"You could potentially be the first pick, but, bro, you have no way of impacting the game the way a quarterback does," Newton said. "You can lock down the No. 1 receiver. You can make impact plays on offense all you want but it's still not like a quarterback."

While that is a very reasonable perspective given the full context, Newton's subsequent comments put him on Smith's radar.

"My issue is that, when I was the first pick, I went into a locker room of losers," Newton said. "Just honest. Guys didn't know how to win; guys didn't know how to prepare. They didn't take themselves serious to realize we was 2-14. There was a lot of 2-14 in the mentality of those guys."

The quarterback explained that he won throughout all three years in college, winning national championships each season. Newton called the NFL a culture shock, saying that the games don't mean as much to players in the NFL as fans would expect. He added that the money is the motivation for plenty.

Needless to say, Smith took issue with that, firing back at his former teammate.

Smith went on to say he was disappointed with Newton, firing off one last post before calling it quits.

Newton's comments are especially interesting after he said he wouldn't trade his league MVP for a Super Bowl on ESPN's "First Take."

While the Panthers were 2-14 the year that Newton arrived, it's important to point out that the team wasn't exactly a consistent loser in the years before that. They were just two seasons removed from a 12-4 record, finishing 8-8 the following year.

Newton's arrival certainly propelled the team to new heights, but Carolina never got over the top with "Superman" under center.

Whether Newton will clear the air with Smith remains to be seen. For now, they probably won't be planning a team reunion anytime soon.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steve Smith Sr. blasts Cam Newton for Panthers 'locker room of losers'