The press. It’s free, it’s independent, and it’s the last thing anyone from either North or South Carolina wants to speak to or speak about these days.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the past 15 days, here’s the breakdown of the Super Bowl: Denver and Carolina went to San Francisco to play in Super Bowl 50, and Denver went into the locker room up by a score of only 13-7. After a horrid performance by Coldplay, Beyonce, and Bruno Mars, Denver came out and wrecked Carolina’s train, with Denver winning 24-10.

But after the game, a story has developed about Carolina QB Cam Newton (and no, he’s not related to Sir Isaac Newton, so pipe down, science fans), more specifically, his refusal to talk to the media.

For those who are unaware about players and the media, there is a couple rules: 1: Before the Super Bowl, you have to sit down and be interviewed for 5 minutes during the so-called “Media Day”, and 2: After the Super Bowl, you have to sit down and be interviewed for 5 minutes during a press conference.

Now, before I continue, I do want to pause for a moment and speak about an incident regarding the Seattle Seahawks, specifically, running back Marshawn Lynch. In the days leading up to Super Bowl 49, Lynch would come in with his phone (which has a prearranged 5 minute timer on it), and then sit down and after every question, would say “You know why I’m here” or something that does not answer the question. Then once his phone goes off, Lynch gets up and leaves. This has led to debate as to whether or not Lynch should get fined, and this has resulted in several people trying to imitate him, including Katy Perry the day before Super Bowl 49 (and yes, she did comment on several other hot topics, including Deflategate).

Now, how does Lynch relate to Newton? Let me answer that with an interesting bit of trivia: After the game, Newton felt so down, he was crying at the end, and then during the press conference, he got up and left after 1-3 minutes (some say he left after 1 minute, others say he left after 3 minutes), but regardless, he was way under the 5-minute timer.

Now, this leads to one big question: Should Newton be punished for not talking to the media.

To be brutally honest, yes and no. Here’s why: On the one hand, Newton felt he betrayed the Carolina Panthers fans, and he obviously didn’t want to break down in front of a TV camera, so by getting up and leaving, he was able to uphold the phrase “men and boys don’t cry”, so no, he should not be punished. But, on the other hand, Newton had very little fault in Carolina’s loss, if that. The Panthers offensive line was helpless, and Newton was sacked so many times, one has to wonder if Carolina’s Offensive Line was actual players or practice dummies. So he literally had nothing to cry over, so while yes, the blame may fall on Newton’s shoulders in many fans eyes, the Offensive line should get the entire blame on this loss, so yes, Newton should be punished.

In the end, it’s up to Roger Goodell. I mean, yes, Newton should be punished, considering he was crying in the locker room for no reason whatsoever, but at the same time, a fine will only add to Newton’s hurt, and it’s that hurt in the mental state of mind that may cause Newton to end up in Johnny Manziel’s situation. Catch you all next week.