In the wake of the controversy surrounding Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and the team’s handling of his injuries this week, the NFL and NFLPA have agreed to make changes to the league’s in-game concussion protocols.
A joint statement released on Saturday reads, “The joint NFL-NFLPA investigation into the application of the Concussion Protocol involving Miami Dolphins’ quarterback Tua Tagovailoa remains ongoing. Therefore, we have not made any conclusions about medical errors or protocol violations.”
While that remains true, the investigation has already led to the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant involved in Tagovailoa’s case being terminated by the player’s union. A number of “mistakes” were cited as the reason that action was taken; adding more detail on that front, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report that the UNC was fired due to “his failure to understand his role and hostility during the investigation process.”
At the center of the controversy is the fact that, under current protocols, the matter of “gross motor instability” being showed by players is subject to interpretation with respect to its cause. In Tagovailoa’s case on Sunday, his notable stumble after taking a hit was ultimately deemed a back injury, rather than a concussion. After the amended protocols come into effect, however, any player demonstrating a similar loss of balance will automatically be ruled out, regardless of team medical staff’s determinations on the specifics of an injury.
“The NFL and the NFLPA agree that modifications to the Concussion Protocol are needed to enhance player safety,” the statement continues. It adds that the league and union “share a strong appreciation for the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants who contribute their time and expertise to our game solely to advance player safety. This program has made our game safer for the athletes who play if for the past twelve seasons.”
The amendments are expected to be formally ratified in the coming days, and could take effect in time for Week 5. Over the course of the remaining games on this week’s slate, though, teams will no doubt proceed with enhanced caution in the event of any head injuries which take place.
Rapoport and Pelissero add, meanwhile, that Tagovailoa (who has been in concussion protocol since being carted off the field on Thursday) has undergone a series of tests, all of which have “come back clean.” By the time he is cleared to return, new regulations will likely officially be in place to try and ensure a repeat of his situation does not occur.
Until they get some unbiased 3rd party referee with unbiased authority to watch the field, the tapes and conduct process with the ability to veto a doctor’s 20-question diagnosis, money is going to rule this picture until the NFL looks like a dummy club.
The player said he was okay, the doctor said he was okay, the coach said the doctor said the payer said…
As long as banking runs the show they’re going to find ways to twist arms and push banners until the NFL is known as a place to send your kids for brain damage.
that’s literally the setup now
Non-seq example of risk to public health:
Mom yells “put up a stop sign my kid almost got ran over!”
Nothing happens…
News reports, “Kid gets run over by car outside school today.”
…They put up a stop sign.
Sadly, it’s human nature. Even worse, this one’s heavily motivated by money in a culture with lots of window pressure to fight or it’s “…next man up”. You can’t blame McDaniel or the doctor when they all answer to “the boss”.
There’s two kids in this scenario. One you’ve got to feed, the other you don’t want to get parkinson’s at 35. What next?
Yes and No, max. There’s plenty of blame to go around. If half the team and coaches saw the franchise qb get smacked and stumble, damn right the coach knows about it.
The coaches religiously watch film, allegedly. That hit and stumble against the bills would have showed up on film. They knew.
Right, but how many more teams are going to do the same thing? There’s plenty of concussions that are less obvious.
I’m with you, any caveman could tell you he was ‘dizzy’. We can attack them for their lack of [fill in the blank], but even the ESPN crew blew over it. They watch things religiously too, just as much as McAfee and everybody else, but nobody said anything until 5 days later. It’s the whole culture that’s to blame.
It’s a bigger problem than just the people directly in contact with him, so to change it we have to really back up and look at it to find resolve.
Otherwise, everybody’s going to pass the buck and there’s only so many doctors we can fire over a “watch the pencil” 20 question verdict because as it’s been stated concussions aren’t as black and white as a torn ACL. It’s much more nebulous and guess who’s going to take advantage of that? Know what I mean?
I’m with you on what’s obvious, but tests and protocols and those in charge of them are what rules this argument, and right now they’re all paid by those who benefit from the players getting back on the field. And to make matters worse, it’s with players who come from hard knocks that don’t want to miss that window of success.
Sure, they knew. Many teams have. We just haven’t noticed until now.
The player wants to get back out on the field and play, but the union that represents him says he shouldn’t have gone out there. Something seems odd.
A drunk woman (or man), perhaps a friend, completely blackout drunk, wants to get behind the wheel of his or her car. Do you let them drive or do you call a cab because you’re a decent human being?
People who are concussed don’t always know they are concussed. Do some research
That Dr had to be fired, and prob deserves more than that. He really fkd up..and it’s totally unacceptable. That said, the league/NFLPA reaction is extreme. If a player so much as stumbles he is out. No questions asked. It’s A total overreaction to 1, singular, horrible situation.
Do you have a better solution, Dr Snapper?
Actually it’s probably about 20 questions asked and the player is going to game the doctor to get his ‘okay’ so he can go back on the field. Concussions are too vague a diagnosis to be given into the hands of people to perform. That’s what we’ve learned this week.
Talking about doctors, coaches and players is a waste of time. I’m impressed with the ESPN staff’s ‘mia culpa’ that they should’ve treated the issue with more attention as well.
Until they regulate concussions outside “team” anything, this problem will just be drama without a solution while owners expect time to heal things while families suffer.
Great, now I have to determine what a stumble is.
So let me get this straight, the PA fired the outside expert they hired because he made mistakes, yet when and stated thereafter more or less that he “didn’t understand his role” and was acting “hostile” during the process. Not saying this person is a consummate professional not knowing them, but something seems off about this situation.
“Understanding his role” means drawing the conclusions his employers wanted him to draw. Being “hostile” means resenting non experts telling him how to do his job. There isn’t really anything odd here. It’s the classic damage control of throwing someone under the bus to cover your own incompetent ass.
They need to have a group of Drs that are maybe are attached to a Ref crew. They need to have training exactly what the league is looking for. If they move around they can’t be positive or negatively affected by anyone. Would make it somewhere consistent.
So does this mean that Aaron Rodgers would have been ruled out of the week 1 game after he stumbled when trying to get up from blocking ZaDarius? That obviously wasn’t a head issue but the language of the new rule makes it sound like that would count. Does any player that slips on turf automatically get ruled out? They need to be VERY careful with the implementation of this new rule because it could get out of hand quickly
How does Harbaugh avoid getting crucified every time Lamar decides to pull down the ball and run?