The football community was outraged as soon as Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa hit the turf on Thursday night. Not lost in the aftermath of the unsightly scene seeing the 24-year-old laying there immediately caused millions of spectators to wonder how the QB was even cleared for play on a short week to begin with.
Typically NFL games are played either six or seven days apart. Except when a team plays on Thursday night, in these cases, only three full days of rest are in between each battle.
While the world had largely moved on to the next game, now obviously everyone wants to know how Tagovailoa was cleared for play in Week 3 after seeing Tagovailoa trip over himself after taking a big hit last Sunday, he was somehow quickly allowed to return. He also wasn’t listed to have any sort of concussion or head injuries heading into Week 4.
Yet, the exact process that led to Tagovailoa being cleared in-game appears to have been littered with mistakes.
According to ESPN, the independent neurotrauma consultant who cleared Tagovailoa has been fired. It was found that the individual committed “several mistakes” during the medical evaluation of the Dolphins QB, according to Marcel Louis-Jacques.
This comes as no surprise, as it doesn’t take much to see Tagovailoa was clearly impacted by the hit against Buffalo. Typically seeing a player stumble after such a collision is a clear indication of a head injury, but that wasn’t the story we were told. Instead, the QB was said to have a back injury.
Even though he wasn’t involved in the matter, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh chimed in, saying he couldn’t believe his eyes last week either.
“I couldn’t believe what I saw last night. I couldn’t believe what I saw last Sunday. It was just something that was astonishing to see. I’ve been coaching for 40 years now, college in the NFL, almost 40, and I’ve never seen anything like it before. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh in disbelief over Tua Tagovailoa’s medical clearance
Scrutiny following Thursday’s Tua Tagovailoa injury hasn’t ceased
Tagovailoa has since been released from the hospital and even released a statement updating the public on his condition. But that hasn’t caused any of the controversies to settle down. And an employee being fired won’t do the situation any justice either.
Sure, the Dolphins had been off to an incredible start to their season, sitting at 3-0 as one of two remaining undefeated teams, and Tagovailoa, in the midst of his best stretch of NFL games in his young career, wanted to continue that success. There was pressure on both sides, not only for Tagovailoa to keep it up, but he also didn’t want to let his teammates down.
At the end of the day, if the NFL wants to prove it cares about player safety, it must do better to protect everyone that takes the field. From medical evaluations to allowing better pain-killing alternatives that are healthier in the long-term to having grass playing fields for all 32 teams, there’s plenty of room for growth.
Meanwhile, in typical Bills Mafia fashion, Buffalo fans have begun donating to the Tua Foundation, as even though these two teams are longtime AFC East rivals, there’s still mutual respect. They may not have had anything to do with Tagovailoa being cleared for contact, but like everyone else, they can’t help but feel remorse for the young QB.
It still doesn’t do anything to help prevent players from being cleared for action when they shouldn’t be anywhere near a football field. These are questions the NFL will continue having to address.
Related: NFL Players Association to pursue ‘every legal option’ over handling of Tua Tagovailoa’s injury