It’s unattainable for many of us to grasp the singular focus and peerless competitiveness {of professional} athletes. An timeless willingness to place successful and private objectives above all else, even when meaning self-sacrifice.
That mentioned, it doesn’t take an NFL resume to acknowledge when a participant is on a collision course with catastrophe, and tragically Tua Tagovailoa appears destined to do exactly that. Tagovailoa must be protected. Not from hits, or soccer, however himself.
Tagovailoa will try to cross the league’s concussion protocol Wednesday with the goal of returning to the sector on Sunday. It can mark the third concussion in two years he’s returned from, with the chance not being missed video games or a misplaced season, however devastating traumatic mind harm that can outline the rest of Tua’s life. We’re left with a 26-year-old, caught within the current, tunnel visioned on his profession, tragically incapable of understanding that the dangers he’s taking now will echo for the subsequent 50-plus years of his life.
We all know this due to how the quarterback spoke on Monday. Unrelenting loyalty to soccer, unwilling to vary — an edifice of old-school, hard-nosed soccer sensibilities devoid of contemporary science or logic.
“I like this recreation, and I find it irresistible to the dying of me,” Tagovailoa alarmingly advised reporters. A cliche usually couched in hyperbole, for Tua the choices he’s making proper now may very nicely be to the dying of him. Terrifyingly it looks like no person is ready to get by to him in regards to the dangers he’s taking.
A part of that is nonetheless as a result of a lot is unknown in regards to the onset of CTE. We’ve got ample examples of athletes who’ve sustained life-altering traumatic mind harm, however the majority performed lengthy sufficient in the past that concussion figures weren’t adequately tracked, or ignored all collectively. The dying of Junior Seau, Stephen Davis experiencing reminiscence loss 4 years after his retirement, Gale Sayers, Frank Wycheck — the checklist goes on.
Within the final decade we’ve seen two of the brightest younger stars within the NFL retire far earlier than their time over harm considerations. Luke Kuechly retired from the Panthers at age 28 over concussion considerations. On the trajectory to be the best linebacker in historical past, Kuechly sustained three concussions in three consecutive seasons, inflicting him to make the tough choice to stroll away from the sport he beloved each bit as a lot as Tua does now, understanding the chance to his future.
Equally, quarterback Andrew Luck additionally retired on the high of his recreation at age 29. A wide range of accidents compounded to steer Luck to his choice, however he cited worries of post-concussion trauma as nicely.
For Tagovailoa it’s seemingly unattainable for him to go away the sport. An habit he’s incapable of shaking. We will have final sympathy for the problem of change if you’ve been locked into the world of soccer your total grownup life, whereas additionally scrutinizing factor of this selection, like not even entertaining the concept of sporting a Guardian Cap on his return, which has been confirmed to scale back the chance of concussion.
When requested Monday why he received’t put on the concussion-reducing helmet cowl Tua curtly answered “private selection,” and wouldn’t expound additional. Whereas some gamers have mentioned they don’t like the texture of the extra cap, it looks like an apparent selection if you’ve sustained a number of concussions with extra probably leading to your life being altered endlessly.
The first problem within the NFL proper now in the case of concussions is that the onus is being positioned on the participant. The league has made great strides in making certain groups aren’t placing gamers again in hurt’s approach instantly, however by placing a lot on gamers to make their very own selections about their well being it opens the door for poisonous tradition and misplaced macho bravado to strain guys getting back from mind accidents far sooner than they need to.
Tua Tagovailoa must be protected against himself, as a result of whereas it’s actually honest to say that athletes must be allowed to make their very own selections, there additionally must be intervention when aggressive athletes of their 20s are incapable of being forward-thinking sufficient to think about their lives of their 40s and past because of the choices they make now.
No one desires to see Tagovailoa ripped from the sport he loves earlier than he’s prepared, however tragically his harm historical past has introduced him to this crossroad. Somebody wants to tug him apart and inform him that selecting to go away soccer over concussions isn’t an indication of weak spot, however slightly one in every of energy. Sacrificing your private objectives and goals to make sure a greater life in your youngsters and household is the final word act of being a husband, a father, and a person.
