Panthers' Cam Newton wears a tribute to 9/11 first responders before Thursday night game

A day after the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the Carolina Panthers' star quarterback Cam Newton wore a tribute to first responders on his shoes ahead of their Thursday Night Game.

The Carolina Panthers' official social media account tweeted images of Newton praying while wearing the shoes before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

#NeverForget 🙏 pic.twitter.com/wTBTdH2083

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 12, 2019

"Never Forget," they tweeted, with an emoji symbol of prayer.

Brian Hall of WFMY documented the shoes on his twitter feed as well, indicating that Newton wore them for the warm up session.

.@Panthers QB Cam Newton's shoes for warmups tonight. @WFMY #wfmysports #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/LqxtoJXdIk

— Brian Hall (@bhallwfmy) September 12, 2019

This is not the first time that Newton has shown respect for 9/11 first responders. On September 11 in 2011 he wore shoes with a tribute to the New York Fire Department.

Cam Newton will wear special edition 9/11 Under Armour shoes during the game today. pic.twitter.com/NJaFKjJ

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) September 11, 2011

The NFL has had to deal with a national controversy over players who protested for the "Black Lives Matter" movement by taking a knee during the national anthem at games, instead of the traditional show of respect. Critics pilloried the popular and lucrative league for not doing enough to shut down what they saw as disrespectful to the flag.

President Donald Trump tossed gas onto the firestorm when he pilloried NFL players and owners for the controversy during his speech at a rally in September 2017.