by Matt Kennedy
The NFL’s opening game featured a Super Bowl 50 rematch between the defending champion Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. It was an exciting matchup which ended in a missed field goal by the Panthers, giving the Broncos a 21-20 victory.
The 2015-16 NFL MVP, Cam Newton, was hit four times in the head by Broncos’ defenders in which only one of the hits were penalized. Now there is conflict in the aftermath of the game on the officials, the Panthers training staff and the Denver defenders.
Darian Stewart, who was fined $18,231, was flagged for his hit on Newton, but the play was offset because of a penalty committed by the Panthers.
The officials and the league stated after the game, all those hits should’ve been penalized, however, Newton later told the New York Times he did not blame the officials for the non-calls, he simply stated, “it’s no fun to get hit in the head.”
Even though Newton was seen lying on the ground after multiple hits, the training staff appeared to not check him for a concussion on the sidelines. He was not taken out of the game to see if he was alright and the Panthers organization, as well as the NFL itself, are receiving major criticism for not protecting their players.
Media outlets are illustrating the frustration and anger of the public towards the situation because they believe the Panthers organization did not take standard protocol towards the process of making sure Newton received a concussion in the season opener.
Newton was hit 17 times during the game. The Panthers training staff stated they did examine Newton during the game and he showed no symptoms of a concussion.
As for the Denver Broncos’ defenders: Brandon Marshall and Stewart received fines which totaled out to $42,540 and both of the players are not too happy with the amount in which they are forced to pay.
Marshall told ESPN reporters, “That’s a huge fine, I know what it looks like, it looked bad, but that’s a lot of money, so yes I’m upset about it.”
Marshall did not receive an in-game penalty for his hit on Newton, but the media shows his hit was the most brutal out of the four and the NFL is fining him such a significant amount because they believe the head on collision was intentional.
Stewart commented on the incident stating Newton is a larger and more physically built which makes it harder to tackle him. Stewart exclaimed the fact his head came into contact with Newton’s head was a mere accident in the attempt to tackle the 6’5, 245-pound quarterback.
Other sources of the media defended the Broncos in this case portraying Newton has to be treated like a running back and not be so protected like a quarterback. He is known to run out of the pocket and is one of the largest athletes in the league which means NFL defenders have to be more aggressive and hard hitting to take down such an outstanding player.
The NFL has released statements explaining the hits to the head should have been penalized during the game and it is a rightfully just punishment for the Broncos’ players because of their actions. The league is cracking down when it comes to protecting their players because the game of football is dangerous and the players do need to be protected.
Roger Goodell would like to avoid more lawsuits from players and former players concerning brain damage due to concussion and the lack of protocol the league used to possess towards concussion diagnosis. The game continues to evolve and hits to the head need to be avoided at all costs.
