There’s no arguing with the fact that Super Bowl 50 was a rough night for Cam Newton. He tied the Super Bowl record for overthrown passes, was hit 13 times, pressured 21 more, and sacked six times.

Likewise, Newton’s post-Super Bowl press conference has been described as, well, less than ideal.

After losing the biggest game of his career, Newton responded to questions in mostly terse, monosyllabic answers. Though his public image had improved somewhat from his first days in the NFL, the post-Super Bowl press conference signaled a regression to many.

According to Dave Newton of ESPN.com, via Bleacherreport.com, Newton said in an interview with Ebony magazine that he could have conducted himself in a better way.

“The truth is, I represent something way bigger than myself. I’m doing it for [my fans and family] and I felt like I let them down,” Newton said

The American media and public enjoys building up sports heroes almost as much as they enjoy tearing them down. After the post-Super Bowl press conference many commentators said that the real Cam Newton had finally emerged. What many sports fans and viewers are missing is the fact that, while most people experience their worst failures in private, professional athletes suffer theirs in front of every person they’ve ever known, plus millions of strangers watching across the globe.

“Who is anyone to tell me, ‘Man, it’s just an interview.’ You haven’t been in that situation. You didn’t have millions of people watching you,” Newton said. “Your heart wasn’t pumping [with] the embarrassment or the anxiety of the stress of dealing with that type of game.”

Whether the awkward press conference was good or bad television is debatable, but Newton did have a suggestion to avoid similar incidents in the future.

“I just wasn’t ready to talk. Was I mad? Hell, yeah! But there could have been a better way to control it, and that’s why I think having more time would have helped.”