Injuries in Sport

Recently, the NFL has been in the spotlight for jeopardizing the health of their players. Tua Tagovailoa, the quarterback for the Miami Dolphins, was motionless, laying on the ground after being hit hard in the middle of the game. After an examination by a doctor, it was announced that Tua sustained a major concussion. It was later found out that he already had a concussion from a previous game and was still recovering. However, the Miami Dolphins had dismissed it as a minor back injury. The Miami Dolphins allowed Tua Tagovailoa to play in a high contact game, knowing he was already injured. There is no excuse to allow an athlete who is seriously injured to play in a game. I grew up as a competitive figure skater and I have seen countless skaters being told to continue skating through injuries. We soon got the mentality to “skate through it”, a phrase the skaters and I would often joke about in the locker rooms. Although most of the time we were just sore or had a bruise, there were times where it was a broken ankle. I witnessed one girl damage her foot badly because she continued to skate on a fractured foot for months. Allowing any athlete to continue to train on a serious injury only leads to a worse injury and possible permanent damage. Tua had such a bad injury, he was told to retire at the age of 24. However, Dolphins’ coaches now say Tua is not listening to them and is planning on returning to the sport soon. He may have been cleared, but I cannot imagine he is fully recovered in such a short time. I don’t blame Tua for believing he is well enough to continue his sport, but I do blame the coaches. All Tua’s life has been spent playing football and I am not surprised he wants to continue doing so. However, the coaches need to reinforce taking time off for injuries, so athletes realize that returning to the game right away is not a good option. The toxic mindset of “skate through it” or “play through it” needs to end. Coaches need to allow athletes to take needed time off, so the health of the sport’s community can improve.