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Carolina Panthers: Tie-Gate Shows Lengths of Team’s Fall

By Raphael Garcia

Nov 6, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera reacts during a NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Panthers defeated the Rams 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera reacts during a NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Panthers defeated the Rams 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Carolina Panthers face multiple questions about a simple neck tie as the 2016 season continues to crumble.

The 2016 NFL season has been heartbreaking for the Carolina Panthers, players, front office, fans alike. From 15-1 with a trip to the Super Bowl last season to a losing season this year and missing the playoffs by a wide-margin is quite the fall. While it would be easy to point the blame in a number of areas, there’s more than enough to go around.

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Franchise leader, Cam Newton, called the season “humbling” and “demoralizing” in a conversation that speaks to the struggles throughout this organization. Speaking on Thursday, Newton touched on how hard this season has been.

“It’s demoralizing,” Newton said as reported by David Newton of ESPN. “It’s challenging. It’s extremely challenging. It’s humbling as well. But you still have to keep getting better.”

For an idea as to how far the Panthers have fallen, just look back to last week as they were stomped by the Seattle Seahawks, 40-7, in Week 13. After such a bad game the biggest story coming out of the abysmal performance was Tie-Gate.

For those unaware, this is the story surrounding Ron Rivera’s decision to sit Newton for the first series of the game after Newton did not wear a neck tie during travel. The conversation was captured on video. Since the game, multiple players and the head coach have faced questions about the situation time and time again.

Rivera expressed his frustration with the dialogue around the situation earlier this week. His opening statement expressed that this would be the last time he’d address the situation and the desire to move forward. More importantly, he again clarified his reasoning for benching Newton. Per ESPN’s Newton again:

"“Again, I made a decision based on rules. Treat everybody the same. The reason you do it, especially when you’re having a tough season, is because if you don’t, chaos, it can consume your football team. The idea was to do the right thing, treat everybody the same. I’ve done it before where I’ve had to treat people the same, and that’s all I’ve done."

With so much going on with this team right now—injuries on the front line, Luke Kuechly’s continued struggles with concussions, Cam Newton’s regression as a quarterback—there’s more than enough that this organization should be concerned with. Even though mainstream sports media usually focuses on the controversial stories rather than the most important issues, this sad story at the end of the year highlights just how far the Panthers have fallen.

Related Story: Ron Rivera Deserves Praise for Benching Cam Newton

For majority of the organization in the NFL, success is a cyclical thing and right now the Panthers are once again experiencing the downside of that cycle. Last season’s performance and the excitement around it make the outcome of 2016 that much harder to digest.

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