Last Sunday, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was escorted off the field after hitting his head and crumbling back to the ground after attempting to jog up to the line of scrimmage. He was removed from the game to be assessed, the assessment was completed and Tua returned. That was the first mistake made by the Dolphins’ doctor and medical staff.
In a stunning turn of events, he went back onto the field later in the game to guide his team to a huge victory against the Buffalo Bills. There were contradictory reports flying around during the game as to whether it was a head injury or whether Tua’s back had seized up. The latter felt like the Dolphins changing their story in a bid to clear themselves of any negligence.
The fact this was considered a “back injury” a week ago is still insane
Potentially life-altering factors on the line. Major step back for player safety
On 2nd & 7 with 5:50 left in the second quarter on Thursday night, the Cincinnati Bengals’ defensive-line breaks through the Miami Dolphins offensive guards and Tua is violently swung to the ground, bouncing his head off the turf in the process and appearing to seize up. The medical staff rushed out onto the field, called for the medical cart and Tua left the game, heading straight to the local hospital from where he was later discharged.
This is a situation that quite simply should never have happened. Tua Tagovailoa should never have come back into the game against Buffalo. Tua Tagovailoa should never have trained this week and he certainly should not have started the game versus the Bengals.
On Thursday night he appeared to suffer second impact syndrome, which occurs when someone gets a concussion for the second time before the first concussion has fully healed. This can extend the time for recovery or even lead to loss of life. The NFL’s player association have already launched an investigation into the process.
The fact of the matter is the Dolphins should have taken this decision out of the player’s hands but instead demonstrated a severe lack of care, consideration and responsibility. The hope is that Tua comes out of the episodes to make a full recovery, but had his health been prioritised there would never have been a second incident.
