Chris Nowinski comments on the injury suffered by the NFL's Tua Tagovailoa on the gridiron.
Chris Nowinski is a former WWE Superstar that has devoted his life to the study of concussions and their effects on the brains of athletes. He is a co-founder of the Concussion Legacy Foundation and is very passionate about informing athletes about the dangers of concussions following his own career coming to an end due to the effects of concussions.
Currently, the Miami Dolphins are under the microscope for their treatment of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa following a concussion that he suffered on Sunday, September 25.
Tagovailoa was knocked out of the game with minutes to go in the first half of a game between the Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills and despite looking visibly concussed when he walked to the back before halftime, he was right back on the field at the start of the second half.
Chris Nowinski was quick to voice his displeasure about the situation on Twitter.
I'm calling bull$hit on the "back tweak theory". Watch the vid. Tua shakes his head multiple times to "clear the cobwebs", which is a specific sign of vision impairment after #concussion. He also wobbles getting up before falling. His return is a fail @NFL pic.twitter.com/oLUNiGsc2A https://t.co/zDauYxvuLc
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) September 25, 2022
Tagovailoa would take the field again on Thursday, September 29, and again take damage to the head, leading to him leaving the game and being evaluated in the hospital. Nowinski continued to take to social media to voice his displeasure about the handling of the situation.
Mike McDaniel said it's good Tua "doesn't have anything more serious than a #concussion."
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) September 30, 2022
I don't think this guy gets it. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury & posturing suggests brain stem injury. It's pretty high on the list of serious medical consequences of football. https://t.co/ZGF2LWERak
Chris Nowinski then appeared on The Dan Le Batard Show on Friday, September 30, to explain the severity of the long-term effects of concussions. Nowinski says that if he was Tua, he would strongly considering not playing for the Dolphins anymore if he is able to recover from these injuries.
“Frankly, this is such a medical disaster that if I’m Tua and I recover from this, which is not guaranteed, I might say ‘I don’t want to play for this team anymore because of what they did.’ No doctor should have believed him when he said his back hurt," said Nowinski. "Just think about that from the other side of it, he never grabbed his back, and he never gave any indication his back hurt from the video. We know players have been honest for years that they’ve lied about concussions. When the doctors come onto the field, they always say, ‘It’s my knee, it’s my ankle.’ They try to distract them. Any doctor should know this. This should not be happening in 2022."
Chris also said that just because incidents like this haven't happened in a number of years, doesn't mean those involved should forget that concussions are a life-or-death issue.
"I think we've taken a step back, and we're not conservative anymore, because we haven't seen these outcomes in a few years where we screwed up somebody so badly, because we made such a callous decision. So I think I'm trying to draw attention to this as a line in the sand to say, 'Please, for God's sake, don't let this happen again.' I've been doing this for now 15 years, and I will tell you, I spent the beginning of this week, visiting the widow of one of my college teammates who died with CTE, and he played in the NFL. This is not the week to mess around on this issue. I see what happens down the line to these guys and if no one's gonna, say anything, I'll say it. We got to treat this thing like a life-or-death issue, or else people are gonna die."
Nowinski would go so far as to say if Tua is back on the field within a month, it's time for people to give up on the NFL.
Tua commented on his injuries via his social media, thanking everyone for their support.
"I want to thank everyone for all of their prayers and support since the game last night," he said. "It was difficult to not be able to finish the game and be there with my teammates, but I am grateful for the support and care I've received from the Dolphins, my friends and family, and all the people who have reached out. I'm feeling much better and focused on recovering so I can get back out on the field with my teammates," Tagovailoa tweeted.
As of Friday, September 30, there was no timetable for Tagovailoa's return, and even undergoing tests in Miami.
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