It’s inconceivable for many of us to grasp the singular focus and peerless competitiveness {of professional} athletes. An timeless willingness to place profitable and private targets above all else, even when which means self-sacrifice.
That stated, 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 and cross the league’s concussion protocol Wednesday with the intention of returning to the sector on Sunday. It can mark the third concussion in two years he’s returned from, with the chance now not being missed video games or a misplaced season, however devastating traumatic mind damage that may 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 following 50-plus years of his life.
We all know this due to how the quarterback spoke on Monday. Unrelenting loyalty to soccer, unwilling to alter — an edifice of old-school, hard-nosed soccer sensibilities devoid of contemporary science or logic.
“I really like this sport, and I adore it to the demise of me,” Tagovailoa alarmingly instructed reporters. A cliche usually couched in hyperbole, for Tua the choices he’s making proper now might very properly be to the demise of him. Terrifyingly it looks as if no person is ready to get by means of to him concerning the dangers he’s taking.
A part of that is nonetheless as a result of a lot is unknown concerning the onset of CTE. We now have ample examples of athletes who’ve sustained life-altering traumatic mind damage, however the majority performed lengthy sufficient in the past that concussion figures weren’t adequately tracked, or ignored all collectively. The demise of Junior Seau, Stephen Davis experiencing reminiscence loss 4 years after his retirement, Gale Sayers, Frank Wycheck — the record 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 damage issues. Luke Kuechly retired from the Panthers at age 28 over concussion issues. On the trajectory to be the best linebacker in historical past, Kuechly sustained three concussions in three consecutive seasons, inflicting him to make the troublesome 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 prime of his sport at age 29. Quite a lot of accidents compounded to steer Luck to his choice, however he cited worries of post-concussion trauma as properly.
For Tagovailoa it’s seemingly inconceivable for him to depart the sport. An habit he’s incapable of shaking. We will have final sympathy for the problem of change once you’ve been locked into the world of soccer your complete grownup life, whereas additionally scrutinizing ingredient of this selection, like not even entertaining the thought of carrying a Guardian Cap on his return, which has been confirmed to cut 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 stated they don’t like the texture of the extra cap, it looks as if an apparent selection once you’ve sustained a number of concussions with extra doubtlessly leading to your life being altered eternally.
The first difficulty within the NFL proper now on the subject of concussions is that the onus is being positioned on the participant. The league has made large strides in making certain groups aren’t placing gamers again in hurt’s manner instantly, however by placing a lot on gamers to make their very own choices about their well being it opens the door for poisonous tradition and misplaced macho bravado to stress 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 truthful 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 on account 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 damage historical past has introduced him to this crossroad. Somebody wants to tug him apart and inform him that selecting to depart soccer over concussions isn’t an indication of weak spot, however fairly one in every of power. Sacrificing your private targets and goals to make sure a greater life to your kids and household is the final word act of being a husband, a father, and a person.
