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While the football watching world awaits a decision from the inquest regarding the decision to allow Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to reenter a Week 3 game against the Bills after hitting his head on the floor, I decided to go back and watch the TV images generated by the moment and its immediate aftermath.
The official story goes that Tua was allowed to return to the game because his “gross motor instability” was caused by a back injury rather than a head injury. The more the video is scrutinized, the less credible this explanation becomes.
The game starts at 2:28 in the second quarter. The full game broadcast is available on NFL+.
After throwing the ball, Tua is shoved by Bill’s linebacker Matt Milano. Tua falls and hits his head on the ground. Before and during the wobbling and stumbling, Tua shakes her head at least four or five times. He never grabs his back.
Additionally, Tua appears to be in the fencing stance, with both hands pulled up to his face mask, as they were after he banged his head on the lawn in Cincinnati four nights later.
Under the concussion protocol, a player demonstrating the fencing stance becomes an instant no go without exception.
We have already mentioned that the protocol requires a review of the video by the team doctor and the independent neurotrauma consultant. We haven’t heard that the video has actually been reviewed. The more the video is scrutinized, the harder it is to agree with the idea that the gross motor instability is due to anything other than brain injury.