PLAYER PROTECTION

Tua’s Concussions Spark Change to NFL Protocol

The symptoms that would stop a player from returning to a game have been expanded.

The outrage over Tua Tagovailoa’s concussions has sparked a change to the NFL’s protocol that could mean more players who take hard hits to the head will be barred from the returning to the game. On Sept. 25, the Miami Dolphin was allowed to get back on the field even after he appeared disoriented and shaky following a slam to the ground. Under the revised protocol, any player showing ataxia—“abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue”—would be benched for the rest of the game. Days after the first incident, Tagovailoa took another brutal hit and had to be stretchered off their field and has not returned to play yet.