Recently,  the star of the Carolina Panthers, quarterback Cam Newton, was sidelined. Not because of bad play or a sports-related injury, but because of a car accident he was involved in days before the game.

Newton was on his way to practice when, two blocks away from the stadium, his truck was hit by a sedan and rolled over multiple times.

After the accident occurred Newton exited the car through the back window and sat down on the side walk of the bridge where his truck was laying. When medical teams arrived on scene they took Newton to the hospital, after much resistance from the star player.

Once at the hospital Newton spent 20 hours being x-rayed and monitored. Doctors came to the conclusion that he had two transverse process fractures. This kind of injury is very healable and the only issues that come with it will be pain management.

“Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo also dealt with transverse process fractures earlier this year,” Yahoo Sports stated in an article.

Romo only sat out one game with this injury so Newton should be able to recover fairly quickly and be back on the field with his team in no time. Newton appears to be fairly optimistic about his misfortunes.

“I just can’t stop smiling because God has his hands on me,” Newton told the AP.

Coach Rivera doesn’t want to risk any further injury to his star quarterback so Derek Anderson will be the starter and Joe Webb will be his backup until Newton has fully recovered from this traumatic event.

“There’s no time to sulk because there’s something that has to be done come Sunday,” Newton said.

FSA Connection Questions

1. What is the tone of this passage?
2. How is Newton’s outlook on the situation?
3. What is the main idea of the passage?
4. What is the subject of the passage?
5. What is the author’s opinion on the subject?