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Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has been fined $21,000 by the NFL for abusive conduct toward a game official during Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders, a league source told the Observer.
Newton was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for what referee Jerome Boger referred to after the game as “disrespecting an official.” Newton was arguing there should have been a late hit penalty on Oakland safety Mike Mitchell.
On Wednesday, Newton said he had not heard from the league nor did he expect to. A source told the Observer earlier in the week the league would review the contact and a fine was possible. CBSSports.com first reported the fine.
Newton was wearing a microphone during the game, and clips from Sunday’s game were played on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” on Wednesday night.
“Let me talk to you after the game,” Newton told Boger.
“I apologize. It won’t happen again,” Newton told the referee after he took a knee to end the 17-6 Panthers’ victory.
This is Newton’s first fine in his two-year career in the NFL. The NFL rulebook states an official may eject a player for such behavior, but Boger said after the game he did not consider ejecting Newton.
“I’d like to start by apologizing to the referee Jerome Boger,” Newton said at his postgame news conference. “The words that I said were very disrespectful. It was just in the heat of the moment and just apologizing so next time I see him we’ll be on good terms.”
