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Football

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Jilly_in_VA

(12,440 posts)
Wed Jan 4, 2023, 08:09 PM Jan 2023

Tua Tagovailoa and Damar Hamlin are victims of the NFL's most regressive season in ages [View all]

Prior to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin fighting for his life on Monday Night Football after collapsing in front of a horrified national audience, the ongoing NFL season was already a more regressive step back in the player safety department than any in recent memory. Hamlin being loaded into an ambulance while paramedics attempted to resuscitate his heart was the nadir, but it wasn’t a standalone incident. Along with Tua Tagovailoa‘s recurring brain injuries, Aaron Patrick’s lawsuit against the NFL for an injury caused by their cluttered sidelines, and the growing pushback against deleterious artificial turfs, the NFL’s entertainment component has been diminished this season and the fury among players is growing.

Independent doctors missed Tagovailoa’s concussion symptoms after he stumbled getting manhandled during a completion against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3. The next week, his head was dribbled off the turf against the Bengals on Thursday Night Football. In an odd twist, those were also both of the participants in Monday Night’s Football clash. Tagovailoa also endured another setback in Week 16 against the Packers when he finished the game with a confirmed concussion that wasn’t caught until he self-reported symptoms a day later.

Yet, his and Hamlin’s episodes have defined this traumatic season. Tagovailoa’s fencing response one week after team doctors attributed his wobbly gait to a “back injury” wiped out any of the NFL’s propaganda about lowered concussion rates in 2021.

With each passing concussion without giving Tagovailoa’s brain time to heal, he risks second impact syndrome, which can result in catastrophic neurological injury, according to Dr. Chris Nowinski. Tagovailoa probably shouldn’t have played again this season and he appears to be more susceptible to reinjury than he was before. Things have gotten so bad, Dolphins fans should be praying that they get eliminated in Week 18, so that their young quarterback won’t even have the opportunity to play in the Wild Card round.

During the preseason, the NFL tested out padded Guardian Cap helmets that mitigated concussive blows, but discussions about incorporating them into the regular season have gone nowhere because of their aesthetic. Guardian caps are ugly and the NFL makes too much money from sales of their current hard-shell helmets designed with logos emblazoned on the sides to interfere with that revenue. They’re looking for an even larger financial windfall after allowing teams to introduce alternate helmets.

https://deadspin.com/tua-tagovailoa-damar-hamlin-nfl-injuries-1849945794

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