Report: Cam Newton fined $21,000 for bumping referee

Referee Jerome Boger calls an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Panthers quarterback Cam Newton during the second half last Sunday's game against the Raiders.

Newton shouted at and bumped referee Jerome Boger during last Sunday's game
Newton apologized publicly following the game
Boger said he didn't eject Newton because the conduct 'wasn't of a malicious nature'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A person familiar with the penalty says the NFL has fined Panthers quarterback Cam Newton $21,000 for abusive conduct toward a game official.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity because the league hasn't announced the fine.

Newton shouted at and bumped referee Jerome Boger in the fourth quarter of Carolina's penalty-plagued 17-6 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

Newton apologized after the game, saying "the words that I said during the game were very disrespectful and I apologized to (Boger) during the game, but I'm going public and apologizing again. It was something in the heat of the moment."

Boger said he didn't feel the bump was enough to warrant an ejection because it "wasn't of a malicious nature."

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