When Calais Campbell dove at Cam Newton's knees this past Sunday, he got away with a clear penalty. And after that game, the Panthers' quarterback and reigning MVP went on a long rant -- it sounded more like a passionate plea to the league -- about how he gets unequal treatment in the pocket from NFL officials.
Campbell's hit, which might've sparked Newton's speech, went uncalled at the time, but it was penalized later. As first reported by USA Today's Jarrett Bell, the NFL fined Campbell $18,000 for that low hit. Campbell will appeal, Bell added.
According to Bell, Campbell apologized to Newton on the field for this hit:
Still, Newton was understandably upset. After all, that wasn't the first time this year he'd been the victim of poor officiating. So, he decided to share his thoughts during his postgame press conference:
"It's not fun. It's really taking the fun out of the game for me. Honestly, it really is. At times, I don't even feel safe. Enough is enough. I plan on talking to Commissioner Goodell about this. It's not fun. And I don't know what I have to do. I showed a lot of frustration today and I apologized to the referee who I was talking to, but I don't think there's a person who can go through what I go through and still keep their head. Hits to the head, that's one thing, but when you're not protected in the pocket, that's another thing.
"The story of my life ever since I came in is just, 'Oh well, we messed that one up. Sorry.' That's bull crap. That's bull crap. As players in this league, if we do something stupid, we get fined. If we do something derogatory to somebody else, we get fined. I just can't keep accepting 'Oh we missed that one' or 'I apologize for doing that' or 'I didn't see it.' That's horse crap. That's horse crap."
Newton ended up meeting with Roger Goodell on Tuesday for what Newton described as a "great discussion."
"I got my point across. He got his point across," Newton said, via NFL.com."We ended on good terms, started on good terms, as well."
Perhaps Campbell's reported fine is an indication the league was listening. Still, we won't fully know the impact of Newton's chat with Goodell until the next time Newton takes a hit to the head or the knee within the pocket.
