Tua Tagovailoa's mother hits back at fan who wished death on Dolphins QB after concussion
Tua Tagovailoa’s 2024 concussion was one of the most alarming in recent NFL history. The injury happened when he braced for a rushing first down, collided headfirst with Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin and lost consciousness. Without him, the Miami Dolphins struggled, dropping three of their next four games before his return against the Arizona Cardinals.
Earlier this week, a fan tweeted that he wished Tagovailoa would die on his next major concussive hit. On Thursday, Tagovailoa’s mother, Diane, responded to it on X.
"Good morning to everyone, even those who CHOOSE hate. As for me & my house, we will serve the Lord,” she wrote.
Tagovailoa is coming off his best performance of the season so far, completing 25 of 28 attempts for two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 27-30 loss against the Bills. After the game, he said:
"It was a great game. We are taking a step in the right direction. We have to keep pushing."
He expounded on his thoughts during Thursday's media availability:
"We didn't go in to the game saying, 'Hey we're gonna need you to spread the ball around.' We just went (in) with the mindset that this is the call. I this is what you see, then throw; if not, then go through your progression. ... And I'm glad that it worked out that way.'"
Domonique Foxworth shares thoughts on Bills players' seeming reluctance to stop Tua Tagovailoa
Speaking of that game against the Bills, fans were treated to an odd sight: their team's defense would hesitate to hit Tua Tagovailoa every time he looked to make a play, even when it meant giving up plenty of yards.
Former cornerback and NFLPA president Domonique Foxworth was one of the few prominent figures who noticed this, and he shared his thoughts on his eponymous ESPN podcast on Sunday (1:04:10 to begin below):
“There were a couple different times where it felt like under normal circumstances, someone would hit the quarterback," Foxworth said. ... "Tua scrambles, and he dives, and a player dodges him. And once in the backfield he’s standing there and very hittable, and I think it was Damar Hamlin decided not to hit him. ... It just shocked me.”
The Dolphins next play the Los Angeles Rams on Monday. Kickoff is at 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT on ESPN/ABC.