On Sunday, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton gave referee Jerome Boger a shove. Now, the league office has given Newton a fine.
Newton has been fined $21,000 for making contact with Boger, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
Newton got off easy. Earlier this year, Pats coach Bill Belichick was fined $50,000 for grabbing an official’s arm. And while Vikings safety Harrison Smith ultimately wasn’t fined for contact with an official, he was ejected on the spot.
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.
Boger, as Daopoulos surmised, likely opted not to eject Newton because Boger didn’t want to send a starting quarterback to the showers. But that shouldn’t matter, and that message likely will be communicated to all officials soon.