He Won’t Say It, but NFL Must Do Better to Protect Superman Cam Newton

DENVER – The look on the face of the Carolina staff member told the story of the night.

In the aftermath of Denver’s 21-20 victory over Carolina on Thursday night, the staff member was asked a simple question: How is it that Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was not taken out of the game for examination of a possible concussion?

The staff member looked back and said, “That’s the question I’m asking.”

During Carolina’s final drive, Newton took a helmet-to-helmet hit from Denver safety Darian Stewart. Newton’s head snapped side-to-side. It was clearly a hit worthy review and the NFL said on Friday that it did just that.

“There was communication between medical personnel on the Carolina sideline, including the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant, and the two independent certified athletic trainer spotters in the booth. During stoppage in play while on-field officials were in the process of administrating penalties, the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant and team physician requested video from the spotters and reviewed the play. They concluded there were no indications of a concussion that would require further evaluation and the removal of the player from the game,” the league said.

The league also said that Carolina medical staff ran out on the field to check on Newton immediately after the hit.

The problem with those statements are two-fold. First, Newton said in his postgame press conference that he was not checked for a concussion until after the game. When asked directly about when he was checked, Newton gave a one-word response.

“Postgame,” he said. And that examination seemed rudimentary to Newton.

“They asked me a couple of questions, but nothing too serious,” Newton said.

As the game was going, there was clearly time for someone to check Newton during the game. Referee Gene …

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