Stevie Ward: “I don’t think this is just a concussion issue; it’s the management of concussion. To go even further than that, it’s about the management of people… I don’t think he was treated as a person. He was treated as someone that they just wanted to get back on the field”
Last Updated: 05/10/22 4:43pm
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Former Leeds Rhinos captain Stevie Ward believes Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa “could have died” as a result of the mismanagement of a concussion
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa “could have died” as a result of the mismanagement of a concussion, former Rugby League player Stevie Ward has told Sky Sports.
Ward, who was captain of Leeds Rhinos before he was forced to retire from Rugby League at the age of 27 due to concussions he suffered on the field, said: “We need to sit with the understanding that people are getting really ill, whether that’s short-term or long-term.”
Tagovailoa was stretchered off the field and taken to hospital with head and neck injuries during the Dolphins’ defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals last Thursday night, four days after the quarterback had been shaken up and looked wobbly on his feet in a game against the Buffalo Bills.
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Miami Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa was taken to hospital with head and neck injuries after being forced out of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals
Tagovailoa left the field with what was initially described by the Dolphins as a head injury before subsequently returning to the game. He was then listed as ‘questionable’ ahead of Thursday night’s game, said to be suffering from a sore back and ankle injury, before being cleared to play.
“I saw that injury, the first one on the Sunday,” Ward said. “And the way that he got up, then stumbling to the floor – his team-mates holding him up, knowing it’s not right – there’s fundamentally something wrong.
“But then he’s able to come back onto the field and test himself against the other team of prime athletes, who are all out to get him… and he plays four days later.
“He could have died.”