People who paid to spot possible head injuries during NFL games failed (again) to do their jobs. The NFL (once again) is all about gigs in any effort to convince fans and the media that all is well.
Appearance on NFL Network (in another meaninga league-owned outlet not naturally inclined to ask inside teammates tough questions), NFL Chief Medical Officer Allen Sales defended the handling of the Dolphins quarterback Toa TagovailoaMost recent concussion.
Because he did, of course.
“What our unaffiliated blood controllers and neurologists look for is any blow that delivers force to the head or neck area, followed by the injury behaviorSeals said, via Yahoo Sports’ Jason Owens. “Thus, there are many blows to the head that occur during the match…. There were no visible signs, although there was a blow to the head and the player reported no symptoms, despite being in contact with the medical staff throughout the match. Therefore, he was not There is something that would trigger the protocol to take effect at the moment.”
This is an ingenious way to get around the fact that the specific player/patient history should have dictated a concussion assessment during a game, after Tua hit his head on the turf. Whether anyone noticed any symptoms during the game is one thing. Whether anyone noticed a blow to the head that should have triggered a simple side check of Tua for any symptoms at all is another matter.
Dr. Sales is, frankly, adept at maneuvering his way through the potential landmines that lie after such a situation occurs. He can, with confidence and authority, say whatever needs to be said to make it look like everything was handled right. Even if it is not.
In this case, the question is not whether Tua should be put into the protocol. It was whether he should have a proper assessment, based on the fact that his head hit the grass.
Obviously something just happened. One day later, he developed enough symptoms to fall into protocol. Dr. Seals’ comments inspire the simple fact that maybe, just maybe, someone should have taken a closer look at Tua during, not after, the game.
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