Cam Newton Insists Fight With Alabama A&M's Mascot Was In 'Good Fun'

Cam Newton is speaking out on his shocking altercation with Alabama A&M's mascot last week ... insisting the whole thing was not as serious as it looked.

The moment happened at Legion Field in Birmingham on Oct. 24 ... as Newton and the ESPN "First Take" crew were enjoying football festivities before the Alabama State and Alabama A&M game. After the mascots from each school took part in a 40-yard dash, A&M's Butch got into a shoving match with Cam, who responded with a hard shot to the face.

The moment aired live and sent everyone into a frenzy ... with even Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin thinking it was a real fight. Well, Newton says it was far from it.

"I just thank God no one got hurt," Newton said on Wednesday, "as we were doing what we were doing. It was all in good fun."

Newton, 36, added that the viral clip was cut short ... saying viewers didn't see the whole episode, which clearly showed there was no beef between him and Butch after the scuffle.

"If people really wanted to dig deep, they could've dug deep in finding the other clips, but that was the only clip that you saw," Newton said.

Newton also joked Butch should thank him for becoming "Meme of the Year."