Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has led his team to three straight NFC South division titles, but 2015 was his first true breakout season. He’s the odds-on favorite to win the NFL MVP Award and he’s within one game of immortalizing himself with a victory in Super Bowl 50. Unfortunately, instead of fans heaping praise on the Panthers, there is a large portion that have a problem with everything he does.

Newton’s celebratory dab after touchdowns, his signals for first downs and his Superman pose have all been deemed as the 26-year-old acting arrogant and cocky by critics. They can’t believe that he is just having fun; instead, it’s taken as selfishness and showing off, but those haters couldn’t be further from the truth.

Newton spoke about it in a press conference yesterday:

“I’ve said this since day one,” Newton said. “I’m an African-American quarterback that may scare a lot of people because they haven’t seen nothing that they can compare me to.”

He’s exactly right. While Russell Wilson and Doug Williams have won Super Bowls as African-American quarterbacks, those guys don’t possess the same personality as Newton and don’t outwardly show how they’re feeling. Newton is different. He’s always been one to enjoy every minute out on the field, but it’s only now becoming an issue because the Panthers are the best team in the NFL and the public hates to love winners.

This group that is offended by what Newton does on the football field grew up with guys like Joe Montana, Steve Young, Dan Marino, etc. And now that there is a quarterback who’s the complete opposite, so many react with hate instead of awe. We should be recognizing Newton for his brilliant play on the field, not judging him because he enjoys himself and likes to celebrate following plays just like the majority of the rest of the league.

Thankfully, Newton isn’t going to allow the haters to change who he is. He’s not going to tone it down and he’s not going to become someone he’s not to appease a few fans who are misled.

So while you’re watching Newton on Super Bowl Sunday, try to look at him through a different lens. Allow him the opportunity to entertain you instead of hating him for not being the type of quarterback you want him to be. After all, would you want people to force you to change your ways because they perceived them differently than you?