The End of the NFL’s Concussion Crisis

The first time anyone started to wonder if it was safe for Tua Tagovailoa to keep playing football was early in the 2022 NFL season. Tagovailoa is the starting quarterback of the Miami Dolphins and one of the league’s promising young stars. During a game against the Buffalo Bills, an onrushing linebacker shoved Tagovailoa in the chest just after he threw the ball downfield. The push was a gentle one, by NFL standards, but Tagovailoa was backpedaling and fell to the ground with enough force that his head snapped back and hit the turf. The referee threw a penalty flag: 15 yards for roughing, one of various rules meant to tame a violent game. Tagovailoa hopped to his feet and tried to jog upfield. He couldn’t. After a few steps, his body fell slack, as if he were Woody from Toy Story and a human had just entered the room. The outward signs suggested that Tagovailoa had a concussion and should be kept out of the game. Instead, he returned for the second half. The Dolphins said he had a back injury.

Just four days later, Tagovailoa was on the field again, playing one of the Thursday-night games the NFL has added to its weekly schedule in a bid for entertainment hegemony, despite concern that the condensed schedule increases the chance of injuries. In the second quarter, Tagovailoa was scrambling to escape a 350-pound defensive lineman who finally managed to grab him around the waist and slam him to the ground. This play was clean, as far as NFL rules go, but the national television cameras zoomed in and found Tagovailoa motionless on his back. His hands were frozen just inches from his face with each finger jutting in a different direction. Medical staffers raced on to the field. They eventually strapped Tagovailoa to a stretcher and rolled him away. There was no denying the concussion this time.

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