Bennet Omalu, the famed neuropathologist who has been credited with finding chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in former football players, has said Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa should “stop playing” football after suffering a concussion last Thursday.
“Tua, my brother. I love you,” Omalu said, speaking to TMZ, not to Tagovailoa. “I love you as much as I love my son. Stop playing. Stop. Hang your helmet and gallantly walk away.”
Tagovailoa was taken off the field on a stretcher during Miami’s loss to the Bengals last Thursday after the back of his head crashed into the ground on a sack by Cincinnati nose tackle Josh Tupou.
The quarterback’s arms and fingers flexed in what is called “fencing response” — a reaction typically associated with concussions or other brain injuries — and he remained on the field for nearly 10 minutes before he was carted off and subsequently hospitalized. That injury came just four days after he appeared wobbly when trying to get to his feet following his head hitting the field on a tackle during the Dolphins’ game against the Bills.
“My advice to him is, look, it’s time,” Omalu said. “You’ve suffered severe, long-term permanent brain damage. He seized. … If you love your life. If you love your family, you love your kids, if you have kids, it’s time to gallantly walk away. Go find something else to do.
“He should stop. Sometimes money is not more valuable than human life. $20 billion is not worth more than your brain.”
After Tagvailoa was concussed Thursday, the doctor who cleared him to return to the game against the Bills was fired by the NFL Players Association. Another concussion controversy occurred this past Sunday, however, when Buccaneers tight end Cameron Brate was allowed back into the game against the Chiefs after colliding with teammate Chris Godwin and appearing disoriented during a second-quarter play. In the third quarter, Brate was removed from the game with what was diagnosed as a concussion.
Omalu, who authored the 2018 book, “Brain Damage in Contact Sports,” identified CTE in the brains of deceased athletes and military veterans.
In December 2015, Sony Pictures produced and released a film titled “Concussion” on Omalu’s life and work. Will Smith played Omalu in the film.
Tagovailoa remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol and has already been ruled out for the Dolphins’ game Sunday against the Jets.
In a statement posted to Twitter on Friday, Tagovailoa said he is “feeling much better and focused on recovering” in order to return to action.
DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFLPA, has vowed to pursue “every legal option” to investigate a potential protocol violation by the Dolphins concerning Tagovailoa.
