The NFL Players Association has terminated the unaffiliated trauma counselor who was involved in the release decision dolphins quarterback Toa Tagoviloa To return to Sunday’s game against the Bills, Mike Florio from ProFootballTalk reported on Saturday.
Marcel Louis-Jacques from ESPN He stated that the unaffiliated neuro-trauma consultant made “several errors” in his assessment.
Unaffiliated trauma counselors have been added to the concussion protocol in 2016, amid a decade of growing criticism about the risk of brain injury posed by football and allegations that the league is complicit. Unlike the team doctors, these consultants are brain specialists and have no particular interest in the team, but there is some skepticism about them. independence.
After landing in the second quarter against Buffalo, Tagovailoa looked shaky and visibly struggled to keep his balance. He was sidelined, according to league policy, and was evaluated in the locker room before returning in the second half to hand Buffalo their first loss of the season.
Despite facing scrutiny from fans and Investigation From the NFLPA to the decision to return Tagoviloa to the game, the Dolphins confirmed that his instability was due to a back injury and that he was completely cleared to return to play.
This decision proved more controversial in the court of public opinion when Tagovailoa received another heavy blow four days later against the Cincinnati Bengals.
After being tackled by Bengals defensive tackle Josh Topo on Thursday, Tagovailoa’s hand appears to have been snatched in what is known as fencing response, an involuntary reaction to an impact with sufficient force to cause a traumatic brain injury. Tagovailoa was deposed in A stretcher She was evaluated at a nearby Cincinnati Hospital. He returned to Miami with the team and entered the league’s concussion protocol.
Thursday’s incident has a lot to do Questioning Why Tagovailoa was on the field soon after an apparent head injury – with the finger pointing at everyone from the coaching staff, medical staff and the NFL for not doing more in the midst of their investigation.