KANSAS CITY — Members of the Chiefs angrily lashed out yesterday against thousands of fans who cheered when quarterback Matt Cassel left a 9-6 loss to the Ravens with a head injury.
Cassel, who committed four turnovers, was hammered by the Ravens’ Haloti Ngata while completing a pass in the fourth quarter. He remained on his back for several minutes while fans began to cheer. He eventually got to his feet and walked off under his own power.
“It’s 100 percent sickening,” Chiefs tackle Eric Winston said. “I’ve never, ever — and I’ve been in some rough times on some rough teams — I’ve never been more embarrassed in my life to play football than at that moment right there. … Matt Cassel hasn’t done anything to you people.
“Hey, if he’s not the best quarterback, he’s not the best quarterback, and that’s OK, but he’s a person,” Winston said. “And he got knocked out in a game and we’ve got 70,000 people cheering that he got knocked out.”
The Chiefs only said Cassel had a “head injury,” and coach Romeo Crennel said he wasn’t sure whether he’d been taken to a hospital.
“We are not gladiators and this is not the Roman Colosseum,’’ Winston said. “This is a game.”