NFL-NFLPA conclude Tua Tagovailoa’s latest concussion was handled properly

The league and union released a joint statement on Saturday.

“The NFL and the NFLPA have concluded a joint review regarding the application of concussion protocol to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa during Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers,” the statement said. “A joint review determined that the protocol was not triggered. The protocol begins when a player receives a head impact and exhibits or reports signs or symptoms suggestive of a concussion. This review established that concussion symptoms did not appear and were not reported until the day after the team’s medical personnel had adequately assessed and placed Mr. Tagovailoa in the concussion protocol.”

This statement downplays the question of whether anyone needed to look into Tagovailoa after his head hit the turf late in the second quarter of the game. If someone had been watching carefully, they might have decided to pull Tagovailoa out of the game.

In fact, the fact that some people like Darrell Bevel, the Dolphins’ offensive coordinator,i saw some things in the gameSuggesting that something went wrong indicates that if someone had bothered to evaluate Tua after he hit his head, perhaps someone would have seen symptoms of a head injury.

Also Bevel’s comment in direct contradiction Declared that symptoms “did not appear” until Monday.

There is no dispute that Tua suffered a concussion on Sunday. Frankly, this statement tap dances around the most important question.

Why didn’t someone check to make sure Tua was okay after her head clearly hit the ground at some point during the game?