The NFL Players Association has exercised its right to remove the independent neurological expert who was involved in the decision to clear Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to return to play last Sunday after being evaluated for an injury in the head, according to a person familiar with the matter. .
The NFLPA’s decision came hours before the union and the NFL announced Saturday that they have agreed to amend concussion protocols to eliminate an exception that allowed Tagovailoa to re-enter last Sunday’s game even after stumbling with standing up after a blow.
The league and union said in a joint statement that they “agree that changes to the concussion protocol are needed to improve player safety.” They said that “conversations have already begun regarding the use of the term ‘gross motor instability’ and we anticipate changes to the protocol to be made in the coming days based on what has been learned so far in the review process.”
The NFLPA had declined to comment Saturday before its decision on the independent doctor, citing its ongoing joint investigation with the NFL into the question of whether concussion protocols were properly followed in the case. Union officials had said Friday they were focused on the medical judgments made in the matter, rather than the overall process and whether protocols were followed as written.
The league and union oversee the protocols in tandem, and either side can choose to end the participation of any of the independent doctors, called unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants, or UNCs, involved in the concussion evaluation process for to the players
The NFL and NFLPA said in their joint statement that their investigation “remains ongoing” and that they have not reached “any conclusions regarding medical errors or protocol violations.” They said they “share a strong appreciation for the non-affiliated neurotrauma consultants who contribute their time and expertise to our game solely to advance player safety.”
Facing criticism, Dolphins and NFL defend decisions on Tua Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa is in the NFL’s concussion protocols after suffering a head injury during Thursday night’s game in Cincinnati. He hit the back of his head on the turf on a sack in the first half. Tagovailoa was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported by ambulance to a hospital. According to the Dolphins, he was diagnosed with a concussion. Tagovailoa was released that evening from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and accompanied the team on their flight back to Miami. He underwent further tests on Friday.
He played in Thursday’s game four days after being cleared by the team doctor and UNC, as required by protocols, to return for a game Sunday against the Buffalo Bills in Miami Gardens, Florida. The UNC involved in the decision has not been publicly identified. .
The joint investigation is ongoing and the doctors involved have been interviewed, according to a person familiar with the case. The NFLPA believes errors of judgment were made, according to this person.
NFL, NFLPA to review whether concussion protocols were followed with Tua Tagovailoa
“Until we have an objective, validated method for diagnosing brain injuries, we will have to do everything we can, including modifying protocols, to further reduce the potential for human error,” said former Cleveland Browns center JC Tretter, president of the NFLPA, in a statement Friday. “A failure of medical judgment is a failure of protocols regarding the welfare of our players.”
Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion “was a scary moment” after the Sept. 29 game against the Bengals. (Video: Miami Dolphins)
Tagovailoa left Sunday’s game in the first half after being thrown to the ground on a play by Bills linebacker Matt Milano. Tagovailoa got to his feet after the play but tripped. He left the field with members of the medical staff. But Tagovailoa got a bye and started the second half again. He and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said afterward that Tagovailoa had injured his back, not his head.
The protocols outline a step-by-step process for evaluating a player with suspected head injury. A player may return to a game if cleared by both the team physician and UNC after multiple tests. The protocols say a player may not return to a game if he demonstrates “gross motor instability” that is “determined by [the] team doctor, in consultation with the UNC, to be caused neurologically.”
Tretter said in his statement Friday: “What everyone saw both Sunday and [Thursday] The night were “no-go” symptoms within our concussion protocol. … We need to find out how and why the decisions were made last Sunday to allow a player with a ‘no go’ symptom to return to the field.”
The NFLPA last Sunday exercised its right to initiate a joint review with the NFL into whether concussion protocols were properly followed. The league said Wednesday that the review was ongoing but had “every indication” that protocols had been properly followed.
Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, said during a televised interview Friday that Tagovailoa underwent a lengthy exam called the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) in the locker room last Sunday. After returning for that game, Sills told the league-owned NFL Network he was being evaluated daily for a concussion before Thursday’s game.
“It’s something we’re reviewing together,” Sills said Friday. “What I can tell you is to reiterate that in real time, these evaluations, when a player is evaluated, are examined and interviewed by both the team doctor and this independent neurospecialist. And those two confer, and they both have to agree in real time that a player is cleared to return to the game.”
Sills had left open on Friday the possibility that concussion protocols could be changed even if it is determined that there was no protocol violation in this case, saying that “if we find that there are things that we need to change, we will certainly be in front. doing this.”
Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa leaves the field on a stretcher with a head injury
George Atallah, the NFLPA’s assistant executive director of external affairs, said in a statement Friday: “The goal of our more than decade-long advocacy on the issue of concussions is to change the culture of our game. ‘one that previously focused on the fastest way back to the field, to one that emphasized the care of the player above all.
“When the first set of protocols were implemented in 2011, they were designed with that goal in mind, and each year we’ve improved those protocols to the point where today’s concussion protocols are much more comprehensive and safer for players who never[.] But they are only effective if the people applying them and making decisions put the focus on the patient/player above the checkboxes to let someone get back to work as quickly as possible.”