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On the surface, the situation that arose around Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa last Sunday can seem complicated. After seeing Tua stumble and almost fall, was it a head injury or a back injury?
The NFL Players Association believes it’s a lot simpler. According to a source with knowledge of the union’s thinking, even if it had been a back injury, Tua should not have returned to action.
Spinal cord injuries can be serious. Very seriously. If Tua did in fact suffer a back injury that led to gross motor instability, then why did the doctors allow him to return?
As the NFLPA and NFL question Tua this week as part of the ongoing investigation, we’re told the union plans to ask Tua a very simple and direct question. When you tell the doctors you have injured your back, what do they do to check your back?
It is possible that no examination took place. It is possible that the examination contained one or more deficiencies.
Again, the goal is to steer the process away from a checklist to keep players playing, and toward trying to rate players as patients, even if it means telling them they can’t play.
Doctors tell us all the time not to do certain things for our own good. In most situations, we are alone in deciding whether to comply or not. When it comes to soccer, there are far simpler ways to ensure the player is following medical advice. The team and/or league just tells him he has to.