Well, it seems like there was something fishy going on with the concussion protocols after all…like we all suspected. The NFLPA has made some obvious, but still shocking, news that they have exercised their right to fire the independent neurologist doctor in charge of the Dolphins-Bengals game.
Obviously, someone needed to take accountability for the debacle that ensued with Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion misdiagnosis. In the modern NFL, no player, regardless of their importance to their team, should be allowed to continue playing in a game if they have shown symptoms of a concussion.
And especially not when those symptoms include said player stumbling around after getting hit, which was what happened to Tua Tagovailoa after the Dolphins clash with the Bills two Sundays ago.
Everyone with eyes watching that game could have seen that Tua Tagovailoa had a concussion…everyone except the NFL’s independent neurologists and the Miami Dolphins team doctors. They should have taken Tua out of the game as soon as he started stumbling around as he was obviously hurt.
His own offensive lineman even stopped Tua from taking the next snap after his hit as they held their QB back and had him go to the sidelines, though the doctors sent him right back out onto the field of play anyways. That level of gross neglect needed to be dealt with accordingly, which is what the NFLPA has done as they have officially exercised their right to terminate the doctor who cleared Tua for the game against the Cincinatti Bengals last Thursday.
Now, you never want to see a person lose their job, but this firing was definitely justified. The NFL and the NFLPA’s investigation into the incident concluded that the doctor made “several mistakes” in regard to clearing Tua Tagovailoa after his first concussion.
How does a doctor PAID AND EMPLOYED in making sure that players with head traumas (including concussions) make “several mistakes” in making sure that a player is okay and safe to play? They have spent their entire professional life studying and helping those with brain injuries.
Surely, they should have known not to clear Tagovailoa in such a clear-cut case.
And what about the Miami team doctors? Since the NFL has already come out and said that their doctors made a mistake, why aren’t the Dolphins punishing their own? They were just as responsible in clearing Tagovailoa for the game against the Buffalo Bills.
Though, I’m probably putting too much credence with the Dolphins hierarchy as they have shown this year that the only thing they care about is success and financial gain, regardless of the consequences and human cost. They wouldn’t punish one of their own even if they were responsible of doing wrong.
Thankfully, these types of incidents will (hopefully) become less prevalent as the NFLPA has also announced that they, along with the NFL, have begun revising and reworking new concussion protocol rules that will remove loopholes and ‘cases of doubt’ from clouding the judgment of the independent neurologists.
Maybe then these players will be safe from their franchises. Yet, with organizations run like the Miami Dolphins, I wouldn’t be surprised if some teams continue to exploit the concussion protocol system and put their players in harm’s way.
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