NFL
By: Monte Perez
The Miami Dolphins quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, will miss Sunday’s game against The New England Patriots. Tagovailoa, who missed weeks 5-6 due to a concussion, told doctors on Monday he was feeling concussion-like symptoms. This is the 3rd time he has entered the NFL’s protocol over the past 3 months.
Anyone who watched the game on Sunday could tell Tua was not right in the 2nd half. He has built his career on consistency and accuracy. Miami was up 20-10 before Tua was tackled and hit his head on the Dolphins turf. He was never taken out of the game after the hit below and inexcusably, was never questioned or evaluated. Because of his history with head injuries, all season Tua has been under the watchful eyes of his training staff, how could anyone see this hit and not put him under the tent for a medical examination?
Tagovailoa threw interceptions on his team’s final three drives en route to a 26-20 home loss to the Green Bay Packers. Miami has a record of 8-7. If the season ended today, they would face the Kansas City Chiefs in a #2 vs #7 seed playoff matchup. The Dolphins still have to play the Patriots and the New York Jets. All three teams are still mathematically involved to make the postseason. New England is 27th in total yards per game and the Jets are ranked 21st. These could be two winnable games even with Teddy Bridgewater starting at QB.
The entire organization needs to shut down its quarterback. This is no longer about making the playoffs, it is about his safety both in the short term and long term. No athlete would be expected to perform after getting 3 concussions in a year much less over the past 3 months. I have seen players like NHL star Eric Lindros and MMA fighter Chuck Liddell keep on playing and fighting after too many hits to the head. I don’t want to see that ever again.
Mike McDaniel has said numerous times that his players are like his family. He can not put one of his family members in jeopardy. No matter what the situation, TUA must not play another down for the rest of the season.
“I just want guys to really be done right by, by the information we have, the science, and all the medical expertise that we rely on,” McDaniel said. “I care very deeply about each and every player, I take that very seriously. I just want him to get healthy and have peace of mind in that regard. It’s about the human being and making sure he’s squared away.”
Today’s players are bigger, faster, and stronger than ever before. This is not about one man being “tough enough” or “man enough” to play. This is about stopping someone from having permanent brain damage. I have watched Tua’s career since his days at Alabama but, I can no longer sit back and support this team if a doctor clears him to play and the organization lets him on the field. Enough is enough.
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