For the last decade or so, the NFL has done its best to mitigate concussions and other head injuries among its players. Awareness around the chronic head injury condition, known as CTE, has also forced the league to make changes, but it seems that more work needs to be done to protect players. Quarterback for the Miami Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa suffered a serious head injury during the Thursday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. While tests have shown that Tagovailoa didn’t suffer a serious injury, the concussion on its own should have sat him out for the rest of the year. Instead, Tagovailoa is set to return for week seven against the Steelers.
The way the Dolphins and the NFL have handled this situation deserves a fair amount of criticism. Tagovailoa had gone out of the game the week before against the Bills with a concussion, and the decision to bring him back for the fourth quarter was questioned. Anyone who was watching Tagovailoa Thursday night could see that he wasn’t alright. Then, the worst-case scenario happened. Tua was sacked on a second and seven after rolling out left, and was swung around, causing his head and shoulder to be slammed against the turf. As soon as it happened, Tagovailoa reached for his head, and his hands stretched out in what is known as the fencing position. The fencing position is a response to a severe concussion. Tua was then tied up, and stretchered out of the stadium, where was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital.
Tagovailoa obviously didn’t come back for the next game, but in my opinion, he shouldn’t be playing in week seven. That head injury was extremely serious and Tagovailoa was a rising star. It is the responsibility of the league and its coaches to ensure that players are safe, even if the player insists that they are fine. While playing with injuries is normal in the NFL, head injuries shouldn’t be on that list. The head coach of the Dolphins, Mike McDaniel, stated that he made sure that Tua was cleared to play, and that he made it clear that if Tagovailoa was at risk, he wouldn’t have played him. But, I disagree. He clearly didn’t. If he was really worried about it, Tagovailoa wouldn’t have played on Thursday Night. The doctor responsible for clearing Tagovailoa to go back into the game against the Bills, and cleared him to play Thursday has been fired, but more needs to be done.
The NFLPA(National Football League Players Association)and the NFL have agreed to change the terms used regarding serious concussions to prevent injuries like this in the future, but the damage has already been done. Tagovailoa’s injury was shown on national television, and now fans and the media are rightfully questioning whether or not the NFL is doing enough to prevent injuries like this. It is possible that Tagovailoa’s career could’ve ended on that play, and he could’ve potentially been paralyzed, which would’ve affected him for the rest of his life. The NFL needs to hold the coaching staff of their league accountable to make the game safer for the players while they’re playing and after.
