Neuroscientist chastises Dolphins, NFL over Tua Tagovailoa concussion

The NFL and the Miami Dolphins are facing heavy scrutiny for their handling of Tua Tagovailoa’s injury.

On Thursday Night Football, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered head and neck injuries that required transportation to a local hospital.

The injury was extremely frightening to watch.

Following the incident, the football and outside world took to social media to criticize both the Dolphins and the NFL for even allowing Tagovailoa to play after the possible concussion he suffered against Buffalo a week prior. Tagovailoa passed concussion protocol on Sunday which involves a sign-off from both the Dolphins’ physician and a third-party neurological consultant.

Neuroscientist Chris Nowinski was among the harshest critics of the league and the Dolphins, going on a full-blown Twitter tirade on how the Dolphins and the league botched this situation and how dangerous this could have ended up being. Nowinski even mentioned the Matt Moore injury in the 2017 playoffs when Moore was, coincidentally, a member of the Dolphins.

Chris Nowinski blasted the Miami Dolphins and the NFL for their handling of Tua Tagovailoa and was absolutely right to do so.

If this amounts to anything, it could be an extremely big deal with significant consequences for the Dolphins. Who cleared Tua Tagovailoa to play on Thursday Night to begin with, especially given what we just saw against Buffalo just a few days prior?

We have seen tweets about everyone losing their jobs with the organization; frankly, there’s nothing wrong with that possibility if the situation is, in fact, as bad as it looks. Or, they could just be fined heavily and lose more draft capital. They’ve already lost picks from the tampering scandal, but this is far worse and should require even harsher punishment.

The main concern is Tua. Thankfully, he was able to move after the injury, and reports indicated he flew back with the team after being discharged from a local Level-1 trauma center hospital, but right now, the best thing for him may be to stay away from the field for as long as he can and not be rushed back into action like he was against Cincinnati. This is a human’s livelihood, not just a game.

It’s hard not to agree with Nowinski and everything he’s saying, while the Dolphins and the league look incorrect in what they did. Thank goodness Tua Tagovailoa looks all right, or else this could have turned out much worse, and let’s not even go in that direction.