Tua Tagovailoa Removed From Field After Second Head Hit in Two Games

Chris Nowinski, the chief executive of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, who has often criticized the N.F.L.’s handling of concussions, was unsparing on Thursday night.

“This is a disaster,” he wrote on Twitter soon after Tagovailoa was wheeled off the field. “Pray for Tua. Fire the medical staffs and coaches. I predicted this and I hate that I am right.”

But Tagovailoa’s injury raised fresh questions about the Dolphins’ handling of the league’s concussion protocol, which first arose because of the team’s decision to allow him to re-enter a game against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday after a hit in which he appeared to slam his head on the turf left him wobbly.

In the second quarter of that game in Miami Gardens, Fla., Tagovailoa was pushed to the ground, hit his head, grabbed the sides of his helmet, staggered to his feet and, after taking a few steps, fell to his knees. He walked off the field and spent the rest of the first half in the locker room, but he returned to play in the second half.

His return prompted the N.F.L. Players Association to begin an inquiry into the Dolphins’ handling of the injury, an option added to the collective bargaining agreement in 2020. The process includes reviewing video and interviewing team and league doctors who diagnosed Tagovailoa. The process can take weeks. The union said on Twitter on Thursday that it hoped Tagovailoa would have “a full and speedy recovery” and that its investigation was ongoing.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/sports/football/tua-tagovailoa-head-injury.html