Many people have questioned the Dolphins and the NFL’s handling of Tua Tagovailoa the past week, which culminated in the quarterback suffering head and neck injuries on Thursday night vs. the Bengals. That came four days after Miami put Tagovailoa back into a game after it appeared he suffered a different head injury.
The NFLPA originally announced that they were investigating Miami’s handling of Tagovailoa on Sunday, and, after the quarterback’s injury Thursday night, the organization released a statement.
“Player health and safety is at the core of the union’s mission,” the NFLPA said. “Our concern tonight is for Tua and we hope for a full and speedy recovery. Our investigation into the potential protocol violation is ongoing.”
However, that statement wasn’t good enough for Mitchell Schwartz. The former Chiefs offensive tackle tweeted his displeasure with the way the union was handling the Tagovailoa situation compared to how they handled the Deshaun Watson suspension.
“We’ll fight like hell to keep QBs who sexually assault women from getting suspended for too long but when one of the good guys has concussive symptoms, returns to the game, doesn’t enter concussion protocol, and is allowed to play 4 days later, ‘our investigation is ongoing,’” Schwartz wrote . “And look, miss me with the ‘but the doctors said it was his back!’ ‘Doctors OK’d him!’ He banged his head on the ground, got up, grabbed his head and shook it side to side, then stumbled around and couldn’t walk. MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, put him in concussion protocol for the week?!?”
The NFLPA was present through the NFL’s independent investigation into Watson, who faced 25 lawsuits regarding sexual harassment and sexual assault during massage therapy sessions. The majority of them have been settled.
The union initially released a joint statement with Watson asking the league to stick with Judge Sue L. Robinson’s ruling, then worked with the league to determine the final punishment for Watson: an 11-game suspension and $5 million fine.
During Amazon’s broadcast of Thursday’s game, NFLPA president DeMaurice Smith messaged Andrew Whitworth and Richard Sherman, saying that the union plans to “pursue every legal option” in the aftermath of the Tagovailoa situation.
“We insisted on these rules to avoid exactly this scenario,” Smith wrote. “We will pursue every legal option, including making referrals against the doctors to licensing agencies and the team that is obligated to keep our players safe.”
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