Going Forward From Tua Tagovailoa's Gruesome Injury

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The NFL streams its Thursday Night games on Amazon Prime now. Therefore, some people do not get to watch the game since it is not on “regular cable.” I think not seeing this week’s Thursday night football game between the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals was probably a good thing. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a scary concussion (his second concussed injury in five days） after being slammed to the ground by Bengals defensive tackle Josh Tupou.

After being slammed to the ground, viewers can see that his fingers and arms “lock up” as he remained stiff while the medical staff and ambulance arrived. Several days earlier, he was seen trembling after being tackled on a play. Fans from everywhere took to Twitter and argued that he should have never returned to the lineup. They also said that whoever was responsible for allowing Tagovailoa to return to the lineup, despite having symptoms of a concussion.

The NFL Players Association ended up firing the independent doctor who cleared Tagovailoa to return to last Sunday’s games against the Buffalo Bills. There were “several mistakes” made by the neurotrauma consultant within Tagovailoa’s charts and tests.

Following the game against the Bengals, Tagovailoa was rushed to the hospital and was later cleared, released, and traveled back with his team to Miami. The NFL has specific concussion protocols that are followed in case of injury. The player must go through a five-step evaluation process. Tests for Tagovailoa came back clear. What does this mean for the NFL and NFLPA’s concussion protocol?

New Rules

According to Bleacher Report, new protocols stated, “The new parameters reportedly “will rule out players who exhibit gross motor instability,” per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, “regardless of any possible contributing factors.” The agreement could take effect by Week 5.”

Public Support From Fans

Bleacher Report mentioned that Burt Trembly (executive director of the “Tua Foundation”), said that there have been 1,000 donations to Tagovailoa’s charity since the incident Thursday night. Not just from Miami fans, but from Bills fans. Fans and other spectators from everywhere know how important this issue is, and it is great to see the ongoing support. Trembly added he and the other foundation officials are “just grateful for all the support” from fans of the Buffalo Bills, who have a reputation for donating to the charities of players from other teams.

Concussions are definitely nothing to play with. As a student and former athlete, I have always been interested in sports medicine and technological advancements within sports. I hope that one day, researchers and other medical staff are able to get to the bottom of what can prevent and treat these injuries.