Tua Tagovailoa doesn’t want to protect himself despite concussions

Due to repeated head injuries, ex-professionals and coaches in the NFL advised the Dolphins quarterback to retire. However, Tua Tagovailoa returns to the field again – the 26-year-old does not take advantage of the opportunities to protect himself from further damage.

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When a player returns from an injury break, it’s initially good news. But many people aren’t so sure about Tua Tagovailoa. The Miami Dolphins quarterback suffered a concussion in the second game of the season. It was the third in the last two years, and he also injured his head again.

After he was unable to finish the game against the Buffalo Bills, Antonio Pierce, among others, advised him to resign. “It’s not worth it,” the Las Vegas Raiders coach said at the time, “he lives longer than he plays football.” That’s why he shouldn’t put his health at risk. Former receiver Dez Bryant even called on the NFL to take action: “Do the right thing. Tua has had far too many concussions, he has to retire for the sake of his health.”

However, retirement was never an issue for Tagovailoa, as he explained this week. “I love this game, I love it until I die,” said the 26-year-old, who signed a new four-year, $212 million contract in the summer. In any case, he will receive 167 million of them. Today, Wednesday, Tagovailoa wants to train again for the first time, and on Sunday he is scheduled to celebrate his comeback after a good six weeks in the game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Fear of long-term damage

The images from two years ago are still in the minds of every American football fan. After hitting his head on the field against Buffalo, Tua Tagovailoa needed help to stay on his shaky legs. Doctors couldn’t find a concussion, so the quarterback later returned to the game. Tagovailoa’s problems were attributed to a back injury. Four days later he was on the field again in Cincinnati – and hit his head hard again.

This time there was no longer any doubt that Tagovailoa suffered a concussion. A few moments after the impact, he was lying on the ground holding his hands to his face – his fingers stretched in all possible directions. As a result, the Samoan took a break for almost a month. He suffered a second concussion later in the season.

Miami was harshly criticized for its actions in the games against Buffalo and Cincinnati, with the Dolphins being exonerated by the NFL following an investigation. The league found that they correctly followed protocol for a suspected concussion. However, the rules have been adjusted so that a player with “gross motor instability,” as was noted with Tagovailoa in the first game, is no longer allowed to return to the field.

The NFL has become much more cautious in this regard in recent years. In 2012, the league was sued by over 1,000 former professionals because they were not adequately protected from head injuries. The topic of CTE has also received more and more attention recently. CTE is short for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can be caused by frequent blows and blows to the head. Those affected suffer from memory loss, behavioral and personality changes, and sometimes also from depression or anxiety disorders.

Better to get injured than look stupid

In order to reduce the risk of concussions and illnesses such as CTE, the wearing of so-called “guardian caps” was also permitted in competitive games this season. These are protective caps that players can wear over their helmet. Since 2022, certain position groups such as the offensive and defensive line have been required to wear these “guardian caps” in training before the start of the season.

This is said to reduce the impact by up to 33 percent; according to the NFL, studies show a reduction of over 10 percent in the risk of concussions. If both players wore one, the risk would be reduced by over a fifth.

However, very few NFL professionals use this protection. In an anonymous survey by «The Athletic» Some players cited the “unnecessary additional weight” or the lack of “comfort” as reasons. While these reasons still seem plausible, another simply said: “I will never wear it. And that’s just because of the fashion aspect, although it’s good protection for the head.” In the eyes of many, the risk of concussions and head injuries is just part of American football.

One of the few “Guardian Cap” wearers: Offensive Tackle Luke Goedeke from Tampa Bay.Bild: www.imago-images.de

Same for Tua Tagovailoa. It is a “personal decision” to forego the “Guardian Caps”, he said to the media on Mondaywithout giving a specific reason. The Dolphins quarterback simply found that there is a certain risk in everything in life: “When we drive to work, we risk an accident.” Even when standing up, you can sprain your ankle with a stupid movement.

Although he has been the victim of such injuries several times, he is “willing to take the risk.” In order to reduce this a bit, Tagovailoa started doing jiu-jitsu after his first two concussions to practice falling and to better protect himself.