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Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton claimed referee Ed Hochuli told him “you’re not old enough to get that call” after Newton felt the Saints should have been called for a personal foul Sunday.
Newton, who’s in his fifth season, admitted he was “baffled” and “ticked off” by what the official of 26 seasons said.
“I was rolling out trying to string out the play and create some kind of opportunity to get a completion. The defensive lineman kind of hit me. It was close, right on the cusp, late hit, I don’t know.
“The response I got was: ‘Cam you’re not old enough to get that call.’ . . . I didn’t think you had to have seniority to get a personal foul.”
The play was the Panthers’ first of the fourth quarter, with Carolina taking over at its own 12-yard line. As Newton rolled right, he fired an incomplete pass toward tight end Greg Olsen. Newton was knocked to the ground shortly after he released the pass by Saints defensive tackle Tyeler Davison. Newton picked himself up, looked for a flag and had a longer-than-usual chat with Hochuli.
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“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,” Newton said.
“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.”
About an hour and a half after Newton’s accusation, the NFL responded through spokesman Michael Signora:
“The officials make decisions based upon the play on the field, and no other factor … On the play in question, there is no roughing the passer because the quarterback is out of the pocket and a runner, and no unnecessary roughness because the contact is not late.”
FULL TEXT OF NEWTON’S COMMENTS:
“I was really baffled by what was said to me. I was rolling out, trying to string out the play to create some type of an opportunity to get a completion. The defensive linemen kind of hit me. It was close, right on the cusp of a late hit. I don’t know. The response that I got was, ‘Cam, you’re not old enough to get that call’. I was looking at him like Jesus, I didn’t think that you had to have seniority to get a personal foul or anything like that. You all have to be accountable. It is one thing to be frustrated in a situation where you see a personal foul on an opposing quarterback get called. For me, when it is something around that same range and for that flag not to be called, I am ticked off really. One, did he miss the call? If he would’ve said that he missed the call then that is one thing. But for his response to be what it was and I am not old enough to get that call, geez. Heaven forbid he gets any rookies. They are going to have a long day man. I don’t know. I am just happy. On a positive side, I am just extremely happy to be 3-0 right now. I think we are missing a lot of guys due to injury. Hopefully we can get those guys back for this week.”
Photo: Margaret Bowles