Concussion problem persists following Tua’s injury
The CDC defines a concussion as a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a bump or jolt to the head.
After Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a serious concussion during the Ravens game on September 18, the national conversation around the topic has resumed.
During the Dolphins game against the Bengals on September 29, Tagovailoa suffered a hit to the head for which he was sent to the hospital because he suffered a concussion.
Tagovailoa had suffered that same injury the previous game and was put on a concussion watch, meaning they weren’t going to allow him to play in the Bengals game. This was upsetting to many such as junior Nate Gomez who felt like he shouldn’t have played the game.
“I feel like the coaching should have taken him out and should not have allowed him to play that game after getting a concussion last game. That was a bad judgment call by the coach,”Gomez said.
Gomez said that the NFL should have taken his concussion seriously the first time he suffered it because he couldn’t stand up the first time. They should have just allowed the backup quarterback to step in and lead the Fins to a win instead of Tua.
Concussion should be dealt with better because there’s young players out there who can suffer the same thing. Schools have to take this as a wake up call to make sure that their concussion protocol is on point to help if they were to get one.
As a student athlete, Alonzo Carter Jr. sees concussion protocol in use on campus on the football team.
“Our school protocol is good.The trainers have tests lined up just in case a person has signs of having a concussion and they would not allow that player to play until they’re cleared [to be] back on their feet.”
School athletic trainer Rachel Dansky explained her focus was on detection and prevention of concussions.
“At the high school level we have many tools to deal with concussion such as exams and things of that nature.That way we can detect how it is present in the athlete and prevent injury as seen with the NFL.”
Dansky detects a concussion with a balance test, a vision test, and a walking on the line test. She still stated that even medical experts have their own opinions on the type of test they need to detect a concussion.
The Dolphins fans were excited to hear that Tua was cleared from his concussion and he will be stepping back on field on October 23 to lead the Fins once again.
