Why America Should Take Head Injuries More Seriously

Miami Dolphins Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa appearing to suffer a head injury during a Sunday game against the Buffalo Bills.

Head injuries in sports, particularly in American Football, should be taken more seriously.

Over the course of only  the first month of the 2022-23 NFL, there were a substantial amount of head injuries throughout the league. Recently though, during a game on thursday night football, Miami Dolphins young star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was viciously slung to the ground, causing a clear and graphic neuro traumatic injury, slipping into the fencing response(an unnatural position of the arms/hands). He was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a concussion. This is very important because only 4 days prior, Tagovailoa took another brutal hit. After the hit, he got up, however he was very clearly suffering from a serious injury. After being taken out of the game to be evaluated under the NFL’s official concussion protocol, the 2020 No. 5 overall pick was allowed back into the game, and it was found that the quarterback had sustained a “back injury”. Some fans argued that due to this, along with a short week, Tua Tagovailoa should not have been in the lineup for the matchup against the bengals. When Tagovailoa sustained the second injury, replay footage and slow motion cameras captured the utterly bloodcurdling moment which caused outrage among the fans. What caused greater anguish though, was the simple fact that a young man’s career, life and future were put in grave danger by the blunders of a billion dollar corporation.

Since this, The NFL has improved their concussion protocol inorder to limit the number of these cases. One of the main reasons behind the big discussion around concussions is CTE. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is an extremely dangerous brain condition that is caused by repetitive head trauma including concussions. It can only be diagnosed posthumously. CTE is a tragic disease that has claimed the lives of many former players. Notable players such as Aaron Hernandez, Phillip Adams, Junior Seau, are a part of some of those tragic stories. CTE not only harms the life of a player, but also the families and people around them. 

Head injuries must be taken more seriously, in order to prevent CTE and to increase the safety of players and people close to them.