Photo: Emilee Chinn/AP/Shutterstock
TheNational Football Leagueand the NFL Players Association have agreed to update the NFL’sconcussion protocolfollowing a review of the response to Tua Tagovailoa’s apparent head injury on Sept. 25.
In ajoint statement releasedon Saturday afternoon, both organizations ultimately agreed that “the outcome in this case is not what was intended when the Protocols were drafted.”
Ataxia was present in Tagovailoa’s case during the Miami Dolphins' match-up against the Buffalo Bills late last month, the league’s chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said during a Saturday press conference.
Tua Tagovailoa.Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Before he was temporarily removed from the Sept. 25 game for concussion protocols, Tagovailoa was spotted stumbling on the field. He then returned in the second half of the game after team doctors announced that he had a back injury.
“First he grabbed his head when he hit the ground, which is usually a sign your head hurts,” Nowinski said. “Then when he stood up he took two bad steps sideways and backwards because balance was clearly off. Then he shook his head side to side in a classic clearing up the cobwebs, meaning he had a visual disturbance. Then he fell to the ground in a very awkward way, and then when he stood up, the only reason didn’t fall again is because his teammates held him up.”
On Oct. 3, the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant (UNC) involved in clearing the athlete following his apparent head injury was fired, and a league sourceconfirmed to PEOPLEthat the NFLPA exercised its right to fire the doctor.
Sills previously called the firing of the UNC involved in clearing Tagovaiola “extremely unfortunate,” with NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller telling reporters, perESPN, that it was not something they “would have done.”
“We never supported terminating him,” Miller said.
Tua Tagovailoa.Andy Lyons/Getty
After his Bills match-up, Tagovailoa went ahead and faced off against the Cincinnati Bengals five days later, when hewas sacked in the second quarter, again hitting his head into the ground. He was then spotted holding up his hands on the field, with his fingers frozen in place, whichDr. Ann McKee, director ofBoston University’s CTE Center, called “a clear sign of a brain injury with brain stem dysfunction.”
“To that end, the parties remain committed to continuing to evaluate our Protocol to ensure it reflects the intended conservative approach to evaluating player-patients for potential head injuries,” the league wrote.
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After his injury against the Bengals, Tagovailoa revealed on Twitter that he was grateful for the “prayers and support” that came his way following the game. The QB is now in concussion protocol and will not play Sunday’s game against New York Jets, with Teddy Bridgewater instead starting for Miami.
“It was difficult to not be able to finish the game and be there with my teammates, but I am grateful for the support and care I received from the Dolphins, my friends and family, and all the people who have reached out,” he wrote. “I’m feeling much better and focused on recovering so I can get back out on the field with my teammates.”
“Besides making NFL players safer, this will influence protocols in other sports and at other levels,” he tweeted. " It’s a great teaching moment for everyone, and it’s why you make noise when mistakes are made."
source: people.com
