The NFL has a lot to answer for after okaying sending Tua Tagovailoa back to the field Thursday night five days after the Miami Dolphins quarterback collapsed after a hard hit against the Buffalo Bills. On that occasion Tagovailoa left the field to be attended, instead of following concussion protocol, inexplicably Tagovailoa was sent back to play the entire second half.
After scrutiny, Miami and the NFL reported that all Tagovailoa suffered was a back injury. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel stated on Thursday night after his starting quarterback took yet another huge hit that left him visibly shaken and hurt, “I have absolutely zero patience for or ever would put a player in harm’s way. That’s not what I’m about at all and no outcome of a game would” influence me ” to be irresponsible” with a player’s health.”
Tua Tagovailoa was transported to the hospital due to the blow he suffered with sports pundits not happy at all with the fact that Tagovailoa was on the field again after taking a brutal shot only five days before.
Tua Tagovailoa status
According to Yahoo Sports, Tua Tagovailoa has flown back home with the team, the official report from Miamiwas that Tua Tagovailoa was “conscious and has movement in all his extremities”. On Sunday vice president of communications Jeff Miller stated, “Every indication from our perspective is that it was [followed],” Miller said of the protocols.
Two soccer pundits and ex-players, Taylor Twellman, who had his career cut short by concussions, questioned the NFL’s logic to field a player who took such a massive hit on Sunday to be back on the field less than 1 week later.
Former World Cup goalkeeper Tony Meola also took to Twitter to address how shocked he was that Tagovailoa was allowed to leave the hospital so early after suffering two brutal blows in less than a week.
That same sentiment was felt all over social media that the NFL is not protecting the players in any shape way or form, while technically, according to the NFL, they are following a protocol that makes sense to nobody.