Tua Tagovailoa and Damar Hamlin are victims of the NFL's most regressive season in ages

[Jilly_in_VA]

Prior to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin fighting for his life on Monday Night Football after collapsing in front of a horrified national audience, the ongoing NFL season was already a more regressive step back in the player safety department than any in recent memory. Hamlin being loaded into an ambulance while paramedics attempted to resuscitate his heart was the nadir, but it wasn’t a standalone incident. Along with Tua Tagovailoa‘s recurring brain injuries, Aaron Patrick’s lawsuit against the NFL for an injury caused by their cluttered sidelines, and the growing pushback against deleterious artificial turfs, the NFL’s entertainment component has been diminished this season and the fury among players is growing.

Independent doctors missed Tagovailoa’s concussion symptoms after he stumbled getting manhandled during a completion against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3. The next week, his head was dribbled off the turf against the Bengals on Thursday Night Football. In an odd twist, those were also both of the participants in Monday Night’s Football clash. Tagovailoa also endured another setback in Week 16 against the Packers when he finished the game with a confirmed concussion that wasn’t caught until he self-reported symptoms a day later.

Yet, his and Hamlin’s episodes have defined this traumatic season. Tagovailoa’s fencing response one week after team doctors attributed his wobbly gait to a “back injury” wiped out any of the NFL’s propaganda about lowered concussion rates in 2021.

With each passing concussion without giving Tagovailoa’s brain time to heal, he risks second impact syndrome, which can result in catastrophic neurological injury, according to Dr. Chris Nowinski. Tagovailoa probably shouldn’t have played again this season and he appears to be more susceptible to reinjury than he was before. Things have gotten so bad, Dolphins fans should be praying that they get eliminated in Week 18, so that their young quarterback won’t even have the opportunity to play in the Wild Card round.

During the preseason, the NFL tested out padded Guardian Cap helmets that mitigated concussive blows, but discussions about incorporating them into the regular season have gone nowhere because of their aesthetic. Guardian caps are ugly and the NFL makes too much money from sales of their current hard-shell helmets designed with logos emblazoned on the sides to interfere with that revenue. They’re looking for an even larger financial windfall after allowing teams to introduce alternate helmets.

https://deadspin.com/tua-tagovailoa-damar-hamlin-nfl-injuries-1849945794

[milestogo]

1. What happened to Hamlin was a very rare medical event

that even happens to little league baseball players. It was not caused by unnecessary roughness or neglect by the NFL. He got the best medical care available, and he got it as soon as was humanly possible.

The situation with Tua is different. The judgment to let him return to play so soon after a head injury was a physician mistake. If better helmets are on the way, that's great.

"his head was dribbled off the turf against the Bengals" - what does that even mean?

[Mosby]

2. No one knows the cause yet. Nt.

[milestogo]

3. He did not have any of the usual causes of cardiac arrest:

Coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, Valvular heart disease, congenital heart disease.

If he had any of the above, he would not be an elite athlete playing football for the NFL.

The other cause of cardiac arrest is electrical problems in the heart. We do know that he took a blow to the chest before collapsing. This can disturb electrical activity in the heart. The syndrome is known as commotio cordis.

Nobody knows what exactly what his current status is. But they do know the cause of the cardiac arrest.

[Jilly_in_VA]

4. I am not picking a fight with you, but

"his head was dribbled off the turf against the Bengals" - what does that even mean?

Nit picky. Very. Obviously you didn't see what happened. Tua's head bounced off the turf just like a basketball being dribbled. It was painful to watch. (And to me, just another argument against turf, but anyway.)

As for Hamlin's injury being rare, this former cardiology nurse is going to pick a small bone with you about that too. It's rare-sh, but not as rare as you think. In football, yes. But I've personally seen one case--seatbelted human vs steering wheel in an MVA--and known of several others which have occurred on such diverse occasions as soccer games, baseball games, bike wrecks, and oh yes, lightning strikes. Anything that disrupts the electrical rhythm of the heart.

Some years ago, a young girl from my church was riding her bike with a friend. They were going down a fairly steep hill when the friend wrecked and landed front first on the pavement. When Audrey ran to her, she wasn't breathing. Audrey rolled her over, checked for a pulse and for breathing again, and did what she had learned in Girl Scouts. She started CPR. When a woman came out of her house Audrey screamed for her to call 911 and went on doing CPR. EMS was there within about 5 minutes after the woman called them and took both girls to the hospital. Audrey wasn't hurt but she was shaken up...afterwards. She later received awards from the city and from Girl Scouts. Her friend lived. The doctors said her heart had stopped from the blow of hitting the street chest first--commotio cordis--and Audrey had saved her by knowing CPR.

Moral of the story? Learn CPR. Know where AEDs are. They're basically AI and will tell you what to do once you turn them on.