Even at 51, Tommy Chun-Ming of Mililani is still one of the top watermen in the state. Shortboard, longboard, stand-up paddling … he’s got plenty of championships to prove he’s a master of the waves.

But yesterday we talked football. Chun-Ming also happens to be the biggest fan of the Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton that I know.

So of course he wasn’t happy with what happened to his favorite team and player in their NFL opener Thursday, a rematch of last season’s Super Bowl. Denver won again, 21-20.

“I was throwing stuff at the TV,” Chun-Ming said.

He didn’t like the final score. But he was just as unhappy with the lack of calls against the Broncos for helmet-to-helmet hits on Newton and his own team’s apparent willingness to risk its quarterback’s health.

Some of the officiating calls and no-calls were debatable. What isn’t is that Newton took a tremendous pounding in the second half. By the last series when he took the fourth and final shot to the head, from safety Darian Stewart, he should have been subjected to a full test as required by the NFL’s new concussion protocol rules.

But, with less than a minute left in the game and the Panthers driving for a potential game-winning score, Newton was not evaluated. If he had been, he would have had to miss at least one play.

Given the choice in that situation, no player is going to come out. And coaches tend to look the other way. They come from the time of rub some dirt on it and shake it off. Plus, their jobs are on the line with every win and loss.

“I thought there were doctors on the sidelines to make that call. It shouldn’t be up to the players or the coaches,” Chun-Ming said.

That’s what most of us thought, and it’s true … but just sort of. There are medical personnel trained in spotting concussions unaffiliated with the teams, observing and consulting.

But the doctor who supposedly has final say is a team employee … and although the doctor’s responsibility is theoretically the player’s health, we know what reality is in the NFL. If he wants to keep his job, he’ll play ball by allowing the star to continue doing so.

With reports of painkillers given out like candy added to those of ignorance or denial of the dangers of concussions why should anyone trust NFL medicos?

The league issued a statement Friday saying its concussion protocol standards had been met, despite Newton not being administered a test until after the game.

Apparently a player remaining on the ground longer than usual after getting hit in the head — for the fourth time in the game — didn’t merit a concussion exam. If that’s the case, what does?

That question was asked loudly enough that the NFL now says it is “investigating.”

Isn’t that great? Another ridiculous Deflategate where commissioner Roger Goodell can throw his weight around … except this time the stakes are much higher. We’re talking the health of the players, not the air in the balls.

In 2010, John Wilbur described the way the NFL treated his era of players in the 1970s as the “throw-away generation.”

It seems little has changed; even the league MVP is a “throw-away.” When Goodell spoke of “protecting the shield” years ago it was wrongly assumed that included the players and not just the league’s image.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.