Tua Incidents Put Spotlight Back on Player Safety

During week three of the 2002-23 NFL season, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was sacked by the Buffalo Bill’s linebacker Matt Milano. Tua hit his head hard and had great trouble as he attempted to get back on his feet. As he walked over to get ready for the next play, he stumbled and fell to his knees. Tua was immediately taken off the field and was quickly examined by team doctors. The doctors deemed the injury as a back injury and allowed Tua to come back into play the rest of the game.

Unfortunately, Miami was on a short week and had to play that following Thursday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Tua started the game and all was well until the end of the second quarter when defensive tackle Josh Tupou sacked Tua. The whipping of his head back being combined with the second blow to his head hitting the floor was extremely severe as his fingers started to curl in. Players gathered around on one knee as they saw the severity of his condition.

Concussion protocols in the NFL were put into place in 2011 as Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist, began to look into Mike Webster, a center for the Pittsburgh Steeler. Webster had endured many concussions during his time in the NFL. In 2002, he was found dead in his pickup truck. Many believed his own mental illness caused his death. Omalu found the leading cause of the degeneration from concussions to be chronic traumatic encephalopathy or better known as CTE. Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, quickly dismissed Omalu. However, just three short years later, Dave Duerson, a safety for the Chicago Bears, committed suicide due to his inability to cope with his declining mental health caused by the repeated blows to his head during his professional football career. Ultimately this situation became a wake-up call for the NFL as they began to require more concussion protocol.

Each team is now required to have doctors on staff and continually pass concussion tests over the following week(s) depending on the severity of the concussion. For the average player, most continue to take the tests for two weeks, but the NFL has a minimum of one week per player with a concussion.

Many now question whether the Miami doctors were paid off or persuaded to allow Tua to not only go back in the game on Sunday, but also to play that upcoming Thursday. The Dolphins came out saying he had a “back injury,” even though it was obvious to fans, players, and coaches that Tua was, in fact, injured with a concussion. As a result of the ill behavior demonstrated by the doctors, they were promptly fired and replaced. Tua was diagnosed with a concussion and followed protocol this time around.

These incidents leave football fans wondering if the severity of Tua's injuries could have been prevented if concussion protocols had been more strictly enforced. Keep an eye out for more stringent concussion protocols to be announced by the NFL in the near future.