Mike Florio reveals shocking practice among NFL athletes - "It goes away, that's our attitude"
The entire NFL world was shaken following the injury suffered by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa against the Cincinnati Bengals. Especially after Tua was cleared to play after taking a hit against the Buffalo Bills the week before.
There was a major outrage towards the NFL and the Dolphins for clearing Tua to play in that game.
While the concussion scare has been widely discussed, on Pro Football Talk Live with Mike Florio, Florio discussed how NFL players don't care much about concussions.
The Sunday Countdown crew weighs in on the Tua Tagovailoa situation:
“I treated every one of my players like they were my son … No way in hell I put my son back in that game.” – Rex Ryan https://t.co/pFzyEEdRts
Here's what Florio said about how players around the league treat and view concussions:
"The players don't care. They don't care. About having a concussion. I'd rather have a concussion than a knee injury. We've talked about that time and again."
"Larry Fitzgerald offering and he said it himself to pay the fines of the players who would get penalized financially for hitting him illegally in the helmet, 'Do that, please. I'll pay your fine because I don't want you taking out my knees and tearing my ACL and then I'm screwed for a whole year."
"Concussion goes away. That's our attitude. And it goes with territory. It's part of what we signed up for. It's a badge of honor to cross that thick white stripe and know I may get a concussion. And when I come back, I may get another one."
Mike Florio continued:
"And for all those years, guys, we're going back in the games with concussions. Nobody ever died. And they're telling themselves that, ‘hey, I'm a professional athlete. I know what I'm doing. Let me do it.’"
The NFL and NFLPA announce they agree concussion protocols were properly applied with Tua Tagovailoa on Sept. 25, but that those protocols — now modified — were insufficient. Joint statement: https://t.co/Eo2OkaAvGj
Tua Tagovailoa will not suit up in Week 5 for the Miami Dolphins, and there is a high possibility that he will miss an unspecified period of time owing to the optics of the situation at hand.
Concussion protocols in the NFL will be followed strictly going forward
Following the severe injury to Tua Tagovailoa, the league and all the teams will follow concussion protocols to the T going forward.
Any signs of concussion will mean the players will have to at least sit out the game, a positive, albeit belated step in assuring safety of the players.
In Thursday Night's fixture between the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos, Indy running back Nyheim Hines also showed signs of concussion and didn't return to play the game.
Holy sh*t!! Nyheim Hines 😳😳😳 https://t.co/By0vDLM7YI
It was the right decision taken by the Colts because there was a possibility of Hines suffering a more severe injury had he returned to the game, and that would have been yet another bad look for the NFL.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Pro Football Talk with Mike Florio and H/T Sportskeeda.