Dr. Bennet Omalu, credited with discovering chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in former football players, is again calling for Tua Tagovailoa to retire.
On Thursday, the 26-year-old suffered his third known concussion after colliding with Damar Hamlin in the Miami Dolphins’ 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Talking with TMZ SportsOmalu said he would be “permanently disabled” if he suffered further damage to his brain.
“If I was his brother, his father, his uncle, his cousin, his nephew, if I was a member of his family,” Omalu said, according to TMZ, “I would beg him to retire, to find something else to do.”
Omalu, played by Will Smith in the 2015 film “Concussion” about his life and work, encouraged the quarterback to walk away from the NFL for the second time in two years.
Dr. Bennet Omalu has called for Tua Tagovailoa to retire after suffering his third NFL concussion
Tagovailoa suffered a concussion after colliding with Damar Hamlin in Miami’s loss to Buffalo
His first call-up came when Tagovailoa was carted off on a stretcher after suffering a concussion against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022.
“I should stop,” the doctor said. “Sometimes money is worth nothing more than human life. $20 billion is worth nothing more than your brain.”
Following Thursday’s scary collision, former NFL star Dez Bryant led calls on social media for Tagovailoa to hang up his cleats for his own sake and that of his family.
While Shannon Sharpe, Nick Wright and Ryan Clark all expressed their concerns that night, ESPN’s Elle Duncan shared Omanu’s sentiment on how his family should approach the situation.
While the conversations are taking place in the media, Omalu also called on the Dolphins and the NFL to step in and protect the quarterback from further harm.
Tagovailoa suffered two concussions in 2022, leading to mass calls for his retirement.
“As the corporation that put him back in the game,” Omalu said, “knowing full well that there is a significant and substantial risk that this individual could suffer catastrophic and permanent brain damage afterwards, why would you put him back in the game?”
Meanwhile, Miami coach Mike McDaniel has put the decision in Tagovailoa’s hands. He also admitted that he doesn’t know when and if his star facilitator will return to the field.
“I think it would be a mistake for me to even bring that up,” McDaniel told reporters Friday. “It’s more in line with the fact that I’m really interested in the human being. We’re talking about his career.”
‘I totally understand that people want to get to that point, but I wish they would listen to what I’m saying: planning for his future is not what’s best for him.
“I’m going to ask everyone who really cares to let that be the last thing on their mind.”