For the second time this year, the NFL and NFL Players Associated conducted, and completed, a joint review of whether the concussion protocol properly was applied to Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
The league and union issued a joint statement on Saturday.
“The NFL and NFLPA concluded their joint review of the application of concussion protocol involving Miami Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers,” the statement explains. “The joint review determined the protocol was not triggered. The protocol is initiated when a player receives an impact to the head and exhibits or reports signs or symptoms suggestive of a concussion. The review established that symptoms of a concussion were neither exhibited nor reported until the following day at which time the team medical personnel appropriately evaluated and placed Mr. Tagovailoa in the concussion protocol.”
The statement glosses over the question of whether someone should have examined Tagovailoa after his head hit the turf, late in the second quarter of the game. Maybe if someone had looked closely, they would have decided to pull Tagovailoa from the game.
Indeed, the fact that people like Dolphins offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell “saw some things in the game” suggesting that something was amiss shows that, if someone had bothered to evaluate Tua after he struck his head, maybe someone would have seen the symptoms of a head injury.
Moreover, Bevell’s comment directly contradicts the declaration that symptoms were not “exhibited” until Monday.
There’s no dispute that Tua suffered a concussion on Sunday. The statement, quite frankly, tap dances around the most important question.
Why didn’t someone, at some point during the game, simply make sure Tua was OK after his head clearly and obviously struck the ground?
