DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, is vowing to pursue “every legal option” to investigate a potential protocol violation by the Dolphins concerning quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
After Tagovailoa was carted off the field in Miami’s loss to the Bengals on “Thursday Night Football,” Smith sent a statement to two members of the Amazon broadcast team, Andrew Whitworth and Richard Sherman:
“We insisted on these rules to avoid exactly this scenario,” Smith said. “We will pursue every legal option, including making referrals against the doctors to licensing agencies and the team that is obligated to keep our players safe.”
The NFLPA previously launched an investigation into whether Tagovailoa should have returned to Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills after going through concussion protocol. The Miami QB could be seen stumbling to his feet and struggling to maintain balance after hitting his head on the field during the Week 3 game against Buffalo.
He briefly left the contest but returned after halftime to finish out the game.
NFLPA president J.C. Tretter also issued a statement on Friday.
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“We are all outraged by what we have seen the last several days and scared for the safety of one of our brothers,” Tretter said. “What everyone saw both Sunday and last night were ‘no-go’ symptoms within our concussion protocols. The protocols exist to protect the player and that is why we initiated an investigation.
“Our job as the NFLPA is to take every possible measure to get the facts and hold those responsible accountable,” Tretter continued. “We need to figure out how and why the decisions were made last Sunday to allow a player with a ‘no-go’ symptom back on the field. Until we have an objective and validated method of diagnosing brain injury, we have to do everything possible, including amending the protocols, to further reduce the potential of human error. A failure in medical judgment is a failure of the protocols when it comes to the well being of our players.”
Tagovailoa was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center by ambulance following a scary scene in the second quarter on Thursday night football.
Tagovailoa hit the back of his head on the ground after he was sacked by Bengals nose tackle Josh Tupou, and his arms appeared to seize up. He remained on the field before he was loaded onto a stretcher and carted off.
After Miami’s 27-15 loss to the Bengals, Dolphins first-year head coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa suffered a concussion and nothing “more serious.”
Teddy Bridgewater will lead the Dolphins’ offense while Tagovailoa is sidelined. For Tua’s sake, hopefully he is out for a few games.
