The details surrounding San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s accident continue to take dramatic turns. It started when the Niners kept the incident private for almost two weeks, while reporters also refrained from reporting it. Recently, Shanahan took full responsibility for the car crash. Still, the debate surrounding the secrecy behind the incident continues.

This time, former 49ers Pro Bowler Donte Whitner has joined the discussion and raised several questions. Whitner wondered whether the Niners’ decision not to reveal Shanahan’s crash was simply an effort to protect the head coach’s privacy regarding his injuries or whether it was an act of protection by the organization.

“It’s not about drugs or alcohol, or he wasn’t doing anything illegal,” Whitner said on The Grit Code Podcast. “Then it should’ve came out immediately, and this is not about invading his privacy. It is about whether the 49ers have one standard for players and another for the most powerful coach in the building. When a player is involved in a DUI, domestic violence investigation, or a serious car accident, the story usually moves immediately. Every detail gets reported. Every decision gets questioned. Every mistake becomes public.

“But with Shanahan, the public had to wait. So, who decided that the story stayed quiet? Was that privacy or protection…Shanahan suffered a severe concussion and major physical injuries. Would a player have received the same privacy, the same patience, and the same protection? If I were a player, every detail would be on full blast for the public, and every question would be fair game.”

The crash occurred on July 14 near the intersection of Alma Street and Hamilton Avenue in Palo Alto, California. Shanahan suffered multiple injuries, including a concussion, a broken left hand, a broken nose, three broken ribs, and 40 stitches above his right eye. However, the organization didn’t reveal the details of the incident for the next 11 days.

In his conversation, Whitner argued that people don’t want to question why the media didn’t report Shanahan’s crash earlier. Dan Patrick echoed that sentiment over a week ago and criticized ESPN for not reporting the incident sooner. In fact, Patrick argued that the network reported the crash only moments after the 49ers publicly announced the news.

That’s where things currently stand with Kyle Shanahan. The head coach is missing time at 49ers training camp while continuing to recover from his injuries. Shanahan has also clarified that he was driving his Tesla Model S when he struck an SUV driven by a 21-year-old woman.

However, the debate over whether there was something more behind the scenes continues. Whitner, meanwhile, finds it difficult to believe that the secrecy surrounding the accident was solely intended to protect Shanahan’s privacy.