The dread of watching Tua Tago

By Jerry Brewer
September 13, 2024 at 16:57 ET

We’ll always worry about Tua Tagovailoa. His football career, iridescent when he’s healthy, carries an unshakable burden because his brain seems especially vulnerable to a game that comes for the heads of every participant.

Athletes play football. Despite the dangers, there’s a frisky nature to the way they compete, a wild exuberance that captivates Americans. Sadly, for Tagovailoa, there is little playful about how he must approach this game. His carefree spirit keeps diminishing. There is concern every time the Miami Dolphins quarterback gets hit. It’s an irreparable predicament. In this sport, the primary function of a defense is to harass him.

On Thursday night, Tagovailoa suffered the third diagnosed concussion of his NFL career. It’s his fourth official brain trauma going back to his college days at Alabama. And for the second time in less than two years, a prime-time audience witnessed the terrifying sight of Tagovailoa frozen briefly in what appeared to be a fencing posture, his right arm in an unnatural position, an indication of a significant head injury.

While others play, Tagovailoa drudges through this dangerous game. He is 26 years old, but he may be closer to the end of his career than anyone wants to ponder. It’s frightening how unremarkable violence can look on a football field. The quarterback scrambled on a fourth-down play in the red zone, eager to give his struggling team a boost. Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin came forward to stop him, and Tagovailoa lowered his helmet to administer rather than absorb a blow, plunging into Hamlin’s torso. Just a normal play, it seemed. It happens dozens of times each week. But for Tagovailoa, it produced the latest ghastly scene.
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