Just as he secured the $212 million bag and positioned himself as the next great Miami Dolphins quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion history has reared its ugly head again.
Tagovailoa suffered the third concussion of his NFL career and fourth in five seasons on Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills, which once again brought his long-term future into doubt.
It was just the season before last when more than a few people in the football community were calling for Tua to retire after he suffered his first two concussions.
We all know how prevalent brain damage is for NFL football players and concussions are the ultimate evil when it comes to player safety and quality of life in retirement.
Whether or not Tua should continue to play is a discussion that generated plenty of dissenting opinions before he threw for over 4600 yards and 29 TDs last season. So it’s an even touchier subject now that he’s been paid in full.
Stephen A. Smith and Elle Duncan’s conversation on Tua and concussions during a “First Take” segment on Friday, morphed into a heated discussion about sacrifices made by men and women.
Stephen A. Smith and Elle Duncan Clash On Sacrifices Of Men and Women
Smith attempted to give a male perspective on what Tua would continue to put himself at risk.
“Molly [Qerim] and Elle, I can say this: As men, our mentality a lot of the time is different,” Smith said. “You’re willing to put it all on the line to secure the well being of your family in perpetuity, even in the event you’re not around.”
Smith expounded: “There are sacrifices that I make as a father all the time. I’m not around my daughters as much as I would like to be. I’m not with my family as much as I would like to be.Sometimes they resent it and what have you. I don’t care.”
“And you know why I don’t care?” he asked. “Because I grew up starving. And as a result of that, anything that I do to ensure the well-being of my family moving forward, even in the event that I’m not around — as selfish as that may be — I’m willing to do it because I knew what it was like to grow up with nothing. These football players make those decisions every single day as men. Provide, protect. That’s our number one priority. That’s how most of us think. And that plays a role in the kind of decisions that men make.”
The comparison Smith was making was clear, even if the actual physical risks of being a concussion-prone NFL quarterback is much greater than a sports talking head.
We get it.
Elle Duncan Says Women Sacrifice Just As Much As Men For Family
Duncan, however, a mom and elite talent in her field, felt slighted by the remarks and took exception to the ESPN star seemingly limiting that sacrifice mindset to just men.
“As someone who is a woman who has two scars that go from hip to hip because I’ve had two C-sections in an effort to provide for my family and create a family for my family, I understand sacrifice,” Duncan said. “A Black woman in this country, whose mortality rates are incredibly high, I understand making sacrifices and trying to mitigate risk when it comes to your family, expanding your family and protecting your family.”
“All I am simply imploring is that anyone in Tua’s corner, someone that truly believes and loves Tua, is having a real conversation with him right now about what quality of life looks like. We all face an existential crisis at some point in our lives,” Duncan added.
Tua Can’t Shake Concussion-Prone Tag
Tua’s current situation is not only another dark example of the short and long-term risks involved in playing a gladiator sport, but offers further insight into why players are increasingly holding out for financial guarantees in their contracts negotiations.
It can all disappear in the blink of an eye.
The Miami Dolphins were thinking Super Bowl and they definitely didn’t expect to deal with another concussion so soon. Especially after Tua, a 2020 first-round pick, took jiu-jitsu in the 2023 offseason, to work on the proper techniques to lessen the impact of his falls when he is sacked or tackled.
Tua’s overcome so much as a player. He came into the league in 2020, coming off a serious injury that wrecked his Heisman campaign. Prior to the hip injury suffered in college, he was considered a generational talent. His first few years in the league, and his tumultuous time with former head coach Brian Flores presented even more challenges for Tua to overcome, along with his growing reputation for being concussion prone.
Prior to head coach Mike McDaniels arriving and transforming Tua into something resembling the player he was projected to be coming out of Alabama, Tua said Flores beat down his confidence.
There were even rumors of the Miami Dolphins going after Tom Brady to replace Tua when his future as the franchise guy was up in the air. It was just January of 2023 when Tua’s parents came out publicly to dismiss any rumors that their son would be retiring after only playing 13 games in the 2022 season.
Related: Tua Tagovailoa’s Parents Set Record Straight: There’s Nothing Shaking For Tom Brady In Miami
Those rumors have surfaced again, which has got to be a double blow to Tua’s fragile ego.
Having overcome so much, to have to deal with another concussion is sobering for the entire NFL community. SAS and Elle Duncan both were right in that playing the game of football is a huge sacrifice that affects your family, your health and your future in a multiplicity of ways.
