When is a penalty not a penalty? When the player on the receiving end is deemed too young, apparently.
That's what Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton found out Sunday.
Cam, you're not old enough to get that call. That's what referee Ed Hochuli allegedly told the fifth-year quarterback.
Here's what Newton had to say about the explanation Hochuli gave him, per Jones:
I was really baffled by what was said to me. I was rolling out trying to string out the play and create some type of opportunity to get a completion and the defensive lineman, you know, kind of hit me. It was close. It was right on the cusp. Was it a late hit? I don’t know. But the response that I got was, ‘Cam you’re not old enough to get that call.’
I’m looking at him like what? Jesus. I didn’t think you had to have seniority to get a personal foul or anything like that. You just have to be accountable. It’s one thing to be frustrated in a situation where you see a personal foul on the opposing quarterback get called, and then for me when it’s something around the same range and for that flag not to be called, it’s…I’m ticked off. Really.
Just the fact that it’s kind of, one, did he miss the call? If he would have said he missed the call, that’s one thing. But for his response to be what it was, that I’m not old enough to get that call, geez. So heaven forbid he gets any rookies. They’re going to have a long day. So, I don’t know.
A penalty is a penalty. It's as simple as that.
Like Newton said, if the referee just missed the call, you can live with that. Telling a player he's too young to get a call isn't fair, though. The league will likely look into this incident to see what happened.
Per source,
Bleacher Report
