By Savannah Malnar

December 9^th could have been a tragic day for the NFL. Cam Newton, starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, was hospitalized in what looked like a deadly car wreck. Every image of the accident looked like something out of an action movie.

The initial reports of the accident included a picture of Newton smiling at the camera while being attended to by paramedics at the scene. He came out of the accident with just a few fractures in his back and was transported to Carolinas Medical Center for precautionary measures and has since been released. His fractures are extremely similar to the injury that sidelined Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo for one game early in the season. Newton had been going the posted speed limit in an intersection notorious for being dangerous; a car clipped the back of his truck and caused it to flip multiple times.

Just a few days later, Newton spoke directly to the media regarding his accident. He strayed away from talking about himself, saying “As far as when I’m coming back, who cares.” He expressed his concern that his injury was an unnecessary distraction and that the media and fans need to be instead focused on supporting the Panthers’ backup Derek Anderson in Sunday’s key game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Panthers need to win against Tampa Bay in order to keep their postseason hopes alive.

Despite not wanting his accident to become a distraction, the media certainly has pounced on it. Many articles have been published simply quoting Newton’s entire Instagram post that included a picture of his demolished truck and a lengthy yet inspiring caption all about living life to the fullest and not holding grudges.

Newton has retained an exceptional attitude throughout the days following his accident. His words to the fans and the media have been encouraging and uplifting and truly show his thankfulness that he survived a crash that many would not. Reports said that initially he seemed upset that he had let his team down, which sounds funny coming from a guy who did nothing to cause the accident. But on Thursday he said, “It’s no time to sulk. There is something that has to be done come Sunday. I’m excited about it. I’m going to be the biggest supporter.”