During a pregame warmup Sunday, Cam Newton spotted a sign showing support for the Green Bay Packers, the team the Panthers were about to face in week 9, so the star quarterback took action: he took the sign down.
Mike Dobs, who lives in Fayetteville, but was born and raised in Wisconsin, said he got permission from 3 people at Bank of America Stadium to bring in his $500 sign that said, "North Carolina Cheesehead." The sign included a Green Bay Packers logo. When Cam Newton came toward him, Dobs thought Newton was going to autograph his sign. Little did he know Newton was going to take it down. Dobs wants his sign back, but fears it's been destroyed.
Opposing team signs are not allowed in Bank of America stadium during Panthers games, even though stadium officials pre-approved Dobs sign.
Cam Newton said in the post-game press conference that bringing a Packers sign to the Panthers stadium was disrespectful. He likened it to selling a Whopper at McDonalds. Newton said he took the sign down to protect the Panthers' house.
A representative of the Panthers called the Dobs family and said they are going to recreate the sign to give to the family. Dobs original sign is destroyed.
Panthers Coach Ron Rivera said at the team's Monday press conference that he talked to Cam about what happened, but he didn't want to go into any more detail about the incident.
This was Dobs first time in Charlotte. He and his family took a week off to celebrate veteran's day. Dobs is a veteran.
Dobs says he's now getting threats from Panthers fans.