The NFL Players Association has fired the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant who was involved in the decision to allow Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to return to Sunday’s game against the Bills, ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio reported Saturday.
ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques reported that the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant made “several errors” in his assessment.
Unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants were added to the concussion protocol in 2016, amid a decade of mounting criticism of the risk of brain damage, football poses and allegations that the league is complicit. Unlike team doctors, these consultants specialize in the brain and have no vested interest in the team, but there is some doubt as to their independence.
After falling in the second quarter against Buffalo, Tagovailoa looked shaken and visibly struggled to maintain his balance. He was sidelined, per league policy, and assessed in the locker room before returning in the second half to hand Buffalo their first loss of the season.
Despite fan scrutiny and an NFLPA investigation for the decision to return Tagovailoa to the game, the Dolphins maintained that his instability was due to a back injury and that he was fully cleared to return to play.
The move only proved more controversial in the court of public opinion when Tagovailoa suffered another blow four days later against the Cincinnati Bengals.
After being tackled by Bengals defensive tackle Josh Tupou on Thursday, Tagovailoa’s hands apparently clenched in what’s known as the fencing response, an involuntary reaction to an impact hard enough to cause traumatic brain injury. Tagovailoa was removed on a stretcher and evaluated at a nearby Cincinnati hospital. He returned to Miami with the team and entered league concussion protocol.
Thursday’s incident has many wondering why Tagovailoa was on the pitch so soon after an apparent head injury – with fingers pointed at everyone from the coaching staff, medical team and the NFLPA for not doing more amid their investigation.