One head trauma and Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) expert believes quarterback Tua Tagovailoa should sit out the rest of the NFL season and never play for the Miami Dolphins again after how they handled his health over the last week.
The biggest story in the NFL at the moment was the scary injury suffered by Tagovailoa during the team’s Thursday night loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. Midway through the game, the young star’s head was slammed into the turf as he was sacked. It led to an obvious concussion and a terrifying image as the 24-year-old’s fingers seized up in an awkward position for minutes after.
The moment has led to condemnation of the Dolphins and NFL after the quarterback seemed to suffer a concussion this past Sunday as well. However, the organization claimed Tagovailoa’s stumbling as he tried to regain footing after hitting his head on the ground was related to a back and ankle injury, not a possible concussion. Now, it seems as if the team’s starting QB may have suffered two concussions in a four-day period.
Related: Dolphins star QB Tua Tagovailoa releases statement after frightening head injury
On Saturday, former WWE star, neuroscientist, and Co-founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Chris Nowinski, explained to TMZ Sports how Tagovailoa is likely to never be the same based on the long-lasting effects of a traumatic brain injuries.
“We now are fully certain that traumatic brain injuries lead to new mental health disorders. That’s what we have to worry about for the next 20 years. Increased rate of depression, anxiety, self-harm, [and] suicide risk goes up considerably. Basically, one in 30 people his age that have a concussion, like 3% will develop suicidal ideations. … Let’s hope that he recovers, but there is a very good chance he will not recover full speed. He will not feel the same, he will not be able to play at the same level and who knows where that can spiral too because we’ve seen it before, time after time.”
– Chris Nowinski on Tagovailoa’s long-term outlook
Neuroscientist slams failures of Miami Dolphins in the handling of Tua Tagovailoa’s brain health
Nowinski is one of the world’s top experts when it comes to CTE, and has personally dealt with the lasting ramifications of head trauma suffered during his short career with WWE. Based on how the Dolphins seemed to badly miss on what appeared to be clear signs of head trauma on Sunday, and still sent Tagovailoa on to the field Thursday, Nowinski believes he should never play for Miami again and sit out the rest of the season to maintain his long-term brain health.
“I have no criticism for Tua. My advice, having been through it and knowing so many dead athlete’s stories, where there was suicide or some aspect of CTE, or traumatic brain injury, do not go back this season. You’ve had two concussions in four days, three concussions in one season hasn’t happened in the NFL in a long time because that is almost always life-changing. The Dolphins did not take care of you. The fact that they put you out there, frankly, if I were him I would not go back and play for the Dolphins.
Because this was not just a failure of the medical staff, it was a failure of the coaching staff, and the ownership. We are all trained enough to know that what he showed on the field Thursday was a concussion, or at least at a minimum there was a chance it was a concussion, and therefore I’m not going to put the future of the franchise out there four days later to win a meaningless game early in the season. The stupidity [and] ignorance was profound.”
-Nowinski suggests Tagovailoa sit out rest of season