Cam Newton Fined $21K For Bumping Referee

Cam Newton, the Carolina Panthers quarterback, has been fined $21,000 for shoving and verbally abusing referee Jerome Boger last Sunday in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers were playing a home against against the Oakland Raiders in which the Panthers prevailed 17 to 6.

The Charlotte Observer has the details on the Cam Newton fine for making contact with a referee:

“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.”

Newton, a former Heisman trophy winner at Auburn, publicly apologized to the referee in the post-game press conference.

Mike Florio of NBC SportsProFootball Talk argues that Newton should have been tossed out of the game:

“Newton should have been ejected, too. I reviewed the NFL’s official casebook with NBC officiating consultant Jim Daopoulos on Sunday after the Newton incident, and Daopoulos pointed out that the various provisions regarding fouls against officials have one consistent outcome — when a player makes contact with an official, the player always is ejected.”

According to NFL.com, Newtown was also fined $10,000 for kicking Raiders defensive tackle Tommy Kelly, so Newton’s pay will be docked a total of $31,000 just for his actions in one game.

The Panthers are 6-9 this season and play an away game against NFC South rival New Orleans Saints tomorrow afternoon in the season finale.

Do you think the discipline imposed by the NFL on Cam Newton was appropriate?