The former NFL MVP addressed the elephant in the room on his '4th and 1' podcast on Friday ... and he backs up what Top Shelf Performance coaches TJ and Steph Brown said earlier this week -- it all stemmed from some trash talk.

Cam claims both sides exchanged triggering words prior to the scuffle ... but he's owning up to the fact he shouldn't have put himself in that position to begin with.

"There's no excuse," the former Panthers star said. "It's really not, 'cause it could've been a melee, more violence could've stemmed from that and it's just not called for. And on top of that, it's echoing something that's been permeating for years -- black people. Why it gotta be at a black event? You know what I'm saying? And I can easily play the victim and I'm not going to do that."

Cam understands the gravity of the situation ... and is thankful things did not get more serious.

Ultimately, Cam said he needs to use his platform to have a positive influence on the next wave of athletes.

"I have to use my power to empower the next generation," he added. "That's all I wanna do. I wanna use what I've been through as information to change the narrative because to be honest, these are a lot of children's way out of their situation."

"They don't have lawyers to look up to. They don't have counselors to look up to. They see street n****s, they see people who are rapping and they see athletes as people that they look up to."

As we previously reported, Cam and the Browns -- who used to coach with the QB -- got into the physical altercation during the 7v7 youth football tournament in Atlanta on Sunday.