C.J. Mosley On Cam Newton's Reference To Suh: 'I Didn't Think It Was Funny'
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh quite clearly had zero interest Thursday in discussing Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, who in a press conference Wednesday repeatedly referred to Suh as "Donkey Kong Suh."
Thursday in the Lions locker room, reporters trailed Suh - who had a phone to his ear - to his locker, where Suh slid off his tennis shoes and stepped into flip-flops before walking out of the locker room without acknowledging the media horde.
Fellow defensive lineman C.J. Mosley, however, spoke about Newton's comments, and he was not amused.
"I didn't think it was funny," Mosley said.
As media and fans have pondered the motivation behind Newton's bizarre press conference, in which he answered a variety of questions with the same bland answer referencing Suh, some have suggested Newton was just trying to be funny or that perhaps the term was a nickname for Suh.
Mosley confirmed with certainty that Suh has no nicknames.
"Suh? I don't have no nickname for him. I just talk to him regular. We don't have nicknames," Mosley said. "A man like that demands respect. He's going to get the last name. He's going to get the salute. Nobody has a nickname for him. If he comes in here and says, 'I want my nickname to be this,' I'm pretty sure everybody's going to call him it."
Mosley - like many others - did not know what to make of Newton's constant references to Suh.
"That's not a nickname, though," Mosley said. "A nickname's cool. That's just terrible. I don't know what he's getting at by that."
"I don't know what he meant by that comment," Mosley added. "Maybe he needs to clarify that."
One can only guess why a quarterback would want to tweak any All-Pro defensive tackle, let alone Suh, who has been voted by NFL players the league's most feared player, the league's dirtiest player and the player whom other players would least want to fight.
Newton seemed to be calling Suh out, and so far his reasons for doing so remain a mystery.
"Maybe he wants to talk to him closer, see him up close and personal," Mosley said. "That's the only thing I can think of."