Miami Dolphin Midfielder Tua Tagovailoa suffered what appeared to be a horrific concussion during the team’s 27-15 loss to Cincinnati Bengals Thursday evening, he was carried on a stretcher off the field and taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center via an ambulance. While Tagovailoa later walked out of his position and went home with the team while reportedly wearing a neck brace, questions remain about whether he should have played in the first place.
Tagovailoa was injured last Sunday against buffalo bills After receiving a blow from the full-back Milan died. He seemed to hit the back of his head, and the quarterback was clearly having some instability when he stood – as he then stumbled to the ground. Many assumed Tagoviloa had suffered a head injury, but the Dolphins classified it as a back injury, and the quarterback was back in the game.
The NFLPA then stated will review Whether the Dolphins followed concussion protocol, however, this investigation was not completed before Thursday’s game with Miami in a short week. Tagovailoa was in question about playing Thursday night with what were classified as back and ankle injuries. Wearing a suit, he then suffered a frightening head injury after using a violent bag.
Many believe that Tagovailoa suffered two concussions within five days, which is very dangerous. According to Pro Football TalkNFL Executive Director Demorris Smith delivered a statement to former NFL players and current Amazon broadcasters Andrew Whitworth and Richard Sherman Thursday evening, threatening to take serious measures to keep their players safe.
“We insisted on these rules to avoid exactly this scenario,” Smith said. “We will pursue every legal option, including referring doctors to licensing agencies and a team committed to keeping our players safe.”
NFL President J.C. Tretter also issued a statement Friday.
“We are all angry at what we have seen in the past several days and are afraid for the safety of one of our brothers,” Tritter said. “What everyone saw last Sunday and evening was ‘prohibited’ symptoms within our concussion protocols. The protocols are in place to protect the player and that’s why we’ve launched an investigation.
“Our job as the NFLPA is to take every possible measure to obtain the facts and hold those responsible to account,” Tritter added. “We need to know how and why the decisions were made last Sunday to allow a player with ‘non-starting’ symptoms to return to the field. Until we have an objective and reliable way to diagnose a brain injury, we must do everything possible, including modifying protocols, to minimize The potential for human error. A failure in medical judgment is a failure of protocols when it comes to the well-being of our players.”
This was an issue the NFLPA had already planned to consider even if Tagovailoa had not been injured Thursday night. Since he unfortunately had a head injury, the importance of this had reached a new level. The NFL and how it deals with concussions has been a hot topic for years. With this latest incident, one has to wonder if it could lead to another change in protocol.
