No regrets from Ron Rivera over benching Cam Newton

A day after he benched the reigning MVP NFL, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he had no regrets.

Rivera held Cam Newton out of Carolina's first series against the Seahawks because the quarterback wore a black turtleneck and not a tie during the team's Saturday flight from San Jose to Seattle.

Backup Derek Anderson was scheduled to replace Newton for the entire first series, but that lasted just one play after Anderson was intercepted by linebacker Mike Morgan.

"I'm very comfortable with it," Rivera said Monday when asked if he was second-guessing his call to keep Newton on the sideline at the start. "The truth of the matter is I have to treat everybody the same. I really do. And that's all that was. There was no underlying message. There was no feud, because I've done this before.

"It's just unfortunate, the guys that I did this to before weren't the quarterback. That's why it's such a big deal. That's why I think it's quite honestly being made really bigger than it really is."

But since Newton arrived in Carolina, much of what he's done has been blown out of proportion. So Rivera had to of known the message he hoped to send wouldn't be understood by many.

"I knew it was going to be a feeding frenzy," he said. "That's the way it is. As far as I'm concerned, I've addressed it, he's addressed it and I'm treating everybody the same and I will continue to do that. So I'm done with it."