NFLPA Fires Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultant Amid Tagovailoa Situation, per Report

An investigation regarding Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa clearing concussion protocol last Sunday before re-entering the game is ongoing.

The NFL Players Association reportedly fired the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant who was involved in Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s evaluation last Sunday after it was found the doctor made “several mistakes,” a source told ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques.

The NFLPA noted multiple reasons for the termination, including a “failure to understand his role as UNC and hostility during the investigation process,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport reported.

The NFLPA launched an investigation after Tagovailoa was cleared to play last Sunday vs. the Bills after he stumbled off the field following a major hit.  

He cleared concussion protocol and returned to the game, but there has since been questioning surrounding his evaluation, with many questioning the decision to allow him back in the game. After the game, Tagovailoa said he suffered a back injury.

Then, on Thursday night vs. the Bengals, the quarterback was sacked, but this time he wasn’t able to get up after the hit, causing trainers to rush to the field and take him off on a stretcher. He was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center for a head and neck injury. The team later confirmed that the quarterback suffered a concussion on Thursday.

In an interview with NFL Network, the league’s chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills said that Tagovailoa was evaluated for concussion symptoms every day after Sunday’s game, before being cleared by the independent neurologist ahead of Thursday’s game.

Following these two injuries, NFL players association executive director DeMaurice Smith said the NFLPA was planning to “pursue every legal option” regarding how Tagovailoa was evaluated.

Although the investigation into any “potential protocol violation” is still ongoing, the firing of the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant is the first big step the NFLPA has taken amid Tagovailoa’s situation.

Tagovailoa also does not have a timeline to return at this time.

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