The age of a quarterback should be inconsequential when it comes to whether they receive calls in their favor by an NFL referee. One of a referee’s main responsibilities, aside from getting the calls right, is to remain impartial and without bias. According to Cam Newton, that did not happen during Sunday afternoon’s game between the Panthers and Saints.
In a postgame news conference, Newton told reporters that his exchange in the video above with referee Ed Hochuli stemmed from Newton feeling there should have been a roughing-the-passer penalty called on Saints defensive tackle Tyeler Davison on a previous play that occurred early in the fourth quarter. No flag was thrown, however, and Newton voiced his displeasure, to which Hochuli allegedly replied that Cam was not old enough to get that call.
“I looked at him like, ‘Jesus! I didn’t think you had to have seniority to get a personal foul or anything like that,’ ” Newton told reporters. “If he would have said he missed the call, that is one thing. But for his response to be what it was and I’m not old enough to get that call…Geez!”
According to a report from ESPN published Monday, Hochuli could be disciplined by the league if it’s found that Newton’s allegations are true. “We would do an investigation, see if anybody was miked in the area, and we’ve had situations in the past where an official said something inappropriate to a player and we’ve disciplined them,” NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino told the NFL Network on Monday. “So there is a process in place, and we would have to go through that process to see if we could pick up what was actually said.”
With this being Newton’s sixth year in the league, not only would Hochuli’s alleged comments be unacceptable, but they would also be untrue. On Monday, Hochuli continued to adamantly deny making those comments.
(Via Sun-Times)
