The NFL and football in general is causing major and potentially permanent brain injuries. After Monday September 26th the NFL wrapped up week 3 of its 2022-2023 season one of the games that took place on the big stage was the Buffalo Bills facing off with the Miami Dolphins who are led by their third-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. This week Tua was hit hard towards the end of the 2nd quarter he took a while to just stand up then once he did, he stumbled for a couple more steps then continued to collapse to the ground. His dazed and confused state after the hit made it look like a serious head or brain injury.
He was forced into the lock room to be examined after this hit following NFL concussion protocol. The Dolphins finished their half with their back up QB Tyrod Taylor but when the team emerged from their tunnel for the second half Tua was running onto the field yet again with his team after obviously suffering a serious injury. He then led his team to a 21-19 victory over the Bills, throwing for a total of 189 yards and 1 touchdown.
Though the numbers look good, the decision to let him play was not. The Dolphins had a short week kicking off week 4 on Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals. Tua suffered another tough hit that led to him being carted off the field and showing symptoms of potential immobility and seizures. It is almost obvious that this was one of the worst health procedure decisions ever made in the history of this league.
Coronado’s Defensive Coordinator, Mr. Edmund weighed in on the subject saying, “That kid shouldn’t have been out there… This isn’t a hindsight type of deal. just about everyone knew that he shouldn’t have gone in. I think this is going to be bad for everyone involved, even the doctors who cleared him I’m sure they knew it was a bad call but felt too pressured to make that decision”
The NFL and football in general is a brutal sport that often leads too serious or even permanent neurological damage. The NFL has made minor adjustments throughout the years with rules and equipment; these changes have trickled down to college and now even high school football, but the problem is still very prevalent with around 300,000 reported concussions a year due to football, and even with this enormous number it is expected to be closer to double that with 5 out of every 10 concussions going unreported or undetected. It is still such a shame that at the highest level of professional sports these terrible laps in poor judgment continue to happen. Putting these players’ long term health at serious risk.