Chris Nowinski tweeted prior to the start of the Miami Dolphins-Cincinnati Bengals game Thursday night that playing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa would be “a massive step back for concussion care in the NFL.”
Tagovailoa did play and was slammed to the turf by Josh Tupou. On a second-and-7 snap at the Bengals 40-yard line with 5:57 left in the first half, the Cincinnati defensive tackle slung the Miami quarterback onto ground, with the back of Tagovailoa’s helmet hitting the turf.
Tagovailoa was placed on a backboard, before leaving the field on a stretcher.
Amazon Prime’s Al Michaels reported sports medicine analyst Mike Ryan, a long-time trainer for Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Giants, said the hand movement by Tagovailo is a neurological response to head trauma.
Now, Nowinski, a neuroscientist and co-founder and CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, says the Miami Dolphins “should go to jail for letting him play five days after an obvious concussion you covered up. If he dies from second-impact syndrome, I’m pushing for murder charges.”
Three hours before kickoff, Nowinski warned the quarterback shouldn’t play.
“If Tua takes the field tonight, it’s a massive step back for concussion care in the NFL,” he tweeted. “If he has a 2nd concussion that destroys his season or career, everyone involved will be sued & should lose their jobs, coaches included. We all saw it, even they must know this isn’t right.”
Shortly after Tagovailoa’s injury, Nowinski took no pleasure in being right. Instead, he told people to get angry.
Tagovailoa sustained neck and head injuries and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
The Dolphins said Tagovailoa was conscious and had movement in all his extremities after being taken by stretcher from the field. He was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
While on the ground, his hands froze in front of his face. He remained down for more than seven minutes before being loaded on a backboard, stabilized and strapped to a stretcher after his facemask was removed.
Dolphins players gathered around as Tagovailoa was rolled off the field and the crowd chanted “Tua! Tua!.”
The 24-year-old Tagovailoa was suffering from a sore back and was listed as questionable for most of the week ahead of the game.
Tagovailoa briefly left Sunday’s 21-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills after appearing to be disoriented by what the team originally said was a head injury after taking a hard hit took a hit from Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano late in the first half. He missed just three snaps and returned after halftime, a decision that prompted a joint review by the NFL and National Football League Players Association of what went into the decision to allow him to return to the game.
The team and Tagovailoa said after the game the quarterback had a back injury that caused his awkward stumble and fall after he was slammed into the turf in the second quarter. The team said Monday that Tagovailoa was not in concussion protocol.
Miami originally said it was a head injury, but Tagovailoa said after the game that he hit his back on the fall.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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