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nfl concussion protocol under review after miami dolphins' tagovailoa hospitalized
nfl veterans were horrified by last week's events, which left tagovailoa on the ground with his hands up by his face in a "fencing response" — a sign of brain injury.
medical staff tend to quarterback tua tagovailoa #1 of the miami dolphins after an injury during the 2nd quarter of the game against the cincinnati bengals. (photo by andy lyons/getty images)
the nfl players association (nflpa) is reviewing the nfl’s concussion protocol after a series of events last week resulted in the hospitalization of miami dolphins quarterback tua tagovailoa. “the nfl and the nflpa agree that modifications to the concussion protocol are needed to enhance player safety,” the nfl and the nflpa announced in a joint statement. “the nflpa’s mackey-white health & safety committee and the nfl’s head neck and spine committee have already begun conversations around the use of the term ‘gross motor instability’ and we anticipate changes to the protocol being made in the coming days based on what has been learned thus far in the review process.”
tagovailoa was first injured on sept. 25 in a 21-19 victory over the buffalo bills, when he fell and the back of his helmet smashed into the field. the quarterback was slow to get up, and stumbled as he made his way toward the ball before falling to his knees. he was evaluated for a head injury and cleared to return to the game, with the team stating it was a previous back injury that had caused him to stumble, according to espn.
four days later in a game against the cincinnati bengals, tagovailoa was thrown to the ground, hitting his head against the field again. videos of tagovailoa on the ground show him lying with his hands up by his face, bent and clenched in odd ways, in what is called a “fencing response” — a sign of brain injury.
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spectators immediately began questioning if tagovailoa should have been cleared for the concussion protocol.
longtime nfl veterans were horrified by the sequence of events.
“what happened to tua, it’s just absolutely horrendous and unforgivable insofar as where we are today,” chidi ahanotu, a former nfl defensive player and one of the 4,500 former players who successfully sued the league over its concussion practices told insider.
“all the work, and all the deaths, and all the suicides, and all the suffering we’ve seen.”
tagovailoa was taken to hospital during the thursday game and was released friday morning. the player’s association is expected to complete the investigation as early as this week.
did experts follow concussion protocol properly?
dolphins coach mike mcdaniel was adamant tagovailoa didn’t show signs of a concussion before the game on thursday.
“[in] every one of those decisions, it starts with your medical staff but then there’s independent specialists that look into it, too,” mcdaniel said. “there’s an entire protocol and then you’re talking to the player as well. there’s probably five or six different layers of a process and decision-making like you do with all players.”
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the nfl and nflpa spoke with tagovailoa on tuesday afternoon as part of an investigation into his injury, and the clearing.
the “unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant” who assisted in clearing tagovailoa to return to the game against buffalo has been fired, people magazine reports. the nflpa explained the consultant had made “several mistakes” while clearing tagovailoa to play.
despite the injury and lack of a timeline for return, mcdaniel is not putting tagovailoa on injured reserve, which would require him to sit for at least four weeks. tagovailoa is ruled out for sunday’s game against the new york jets; teddy bridgewater will take the starting quarterback position for the game.
“[tagovailoa]’s had a couple of good days,” mcdaniel said. “he’s just trying to go through with the proper procedure and protocol.”
tagovailoa, a 24-year-old from hawaii, joined the dolphins in 2020. since then, he has appeared in 27 games — starting 25 — and thrown 35 touchdown passes.
what is a concussion?
simply, a concussion occurs when the brain makes hard contact with the inside of the skull.
typically, people who experience a concussion will be more tired than normal, experience blurry vision, and have a headache, according to the mayo clinic. it’s also possible the person will experience ringing ears, nausea, seeing stars, and brain fog.
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when writing about athletes returning to play, the mayo clinic website states players should never return to play or vigorous activity while signs of a concussion are present. there is also no set time for how long a concussion takes to heal, with a recovery period ranging from weeks to months.
what are the dangers of two concussions happening close together?
concussions become significantly more dangerous when sustained close together, and patients run the risk of developing a condition called second-impact syndrome. specifically, sis is when the brain swells after the second impact.
according to
beaumont health, people who suffer from sis often die, and those who do not are severely disabled for the rest of their lives.
sidney crosby has an infamous concussion history, after taking a bad hit in the last seconds of the second period of the 2011 winter classic on new year’s day without even having possession of the puck. he returned four days later, where he took a
hit into the glass from victor hedman. crosby didn’t play another game that season.
that following december, crosby was elbowed in the head
and missed more than three months, although the penguins captain actually stayed in the play.
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rowan’s law day, the last wednesday of each september, is a day adopted by rugby clubs across canada to raise awareness for second impact syndrome. rowan stringer was a high school rugby player from ottawa who experienced three concussions in six days, and died from sis.
chris arnold is a toronto-based writer.
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