A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is rejecting calls to retire after the third official concussion of his NFL career. Today, he goes back to the practice field, and he is expected to play again on Sunday. Here's NPR's Becky Sullivan.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: The hit came in a September game against the Buffalo Bills. The 26-year-old Tagovailoa scrambled for a first down and lowered his shoulder into a defender's chest.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR #1: And takes a shot at the 6-yard line.
SULLIVAN: It was a routine play really, but Tagovailoa's head bounced on impact, and he fell. Right away, the other players, fans, announcers - everyone - was thinking, another concussion.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR #2: Of course, we all remember a few years ago. That was a big concern in his career.
SULLIVAN: Tagovailoa had two diagnosed concussions in 2022, and he likely had a third. The league revised its concussion protocols afterward. Now he's become the face of concussions in football - a fact he doesn't like.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
TUA TAGOVAILOA: I'm frustrated, but this is what it is. Do I want to be known for this? No, I don't. But that's the cards I've been dealt with, given the history of it.
SULLIVAN: On Monday in his first press conference since the injury, Tagovailoa said he'd been symptom-free since the day after and that he blocked out all the chatter about whether he should retire.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
TAGOVAILOA: I wasn't paying attention to any of it - none of it.
SULLIVAN: After the injury, the Dolphins placed him on injured reserve to give him a month to recover. Tagovailoa came to team meetings, stood on the sideline as the Dolphins played without him, losing three of four games he missed. Now he's made it clear he's coming back.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
TAGOVAILOA: Well, how much risk do we take when we get up in the morning to go drive to work? Get into a car crash maybe. I don't know. There's just risk in any and everything, and I'm willing to play the odds.
SULLIVAN: After Tagovailoa's injury last month, I spoke with Dr. Javier Cardenas, a neurologist at West Virginia University's Concussion & Brain Injury Center. He also advises the NFL. He says there's no magic number of concussions that should make a player retire. Instead, doctors look for permanent damage or ways that multiple concussions add up.
JAVIER CARDENAS: Does it take less and less of an impact to sustain a concussion? So one moment, it might be a helmet-to-helmet hit. The next moment, they're trying to get in a car, and they bump their head, and they've got concussion symptoms.
SULLIVAN: Even as awareness has grown about the danger of concussions and the link to long-term brain disease like dementia, it's rare to see professional athletes abandon their careers over it. The NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired in 2017 after a series of concussions. Last week on his podcast, he recalled how hard that decision was - to the point where he pleaded with a doctor unsuccessfully to decide for him.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "THE DALE JR. DOWNLOAD")
DALE EARNHARDT JR: And I was like, I want you to tell me to stop 'cause I'm not going to stop unless you tell me I have to stop. I don't want to choose that. I'd rather you be the one.
SULLIVAN: For his podcast, Earnhardt was interviewing Luke Kuechly - the former all-pro linebacker for the Carolina Panthers - perhaps the highest-profile NFL player to retire early due to concerns about brain injuries.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "THE DALE JR. DOWNLOAD")
LUKE KUECHLY: It was a very difficult decision 'cause I love everything about football. I love the offseason. I love training camp. I love being around the guys. I like flying to games. I like - love playing football. I love to practice.
SULLIVAN: But he got concussions three seasons in a row, and that forced him to change the way he played, Kuechly said, so he quit football. There's an echo in that with how Tagovailoa talked about his own decision this week.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
TAGOVAILOA: For me, this is what I love to do. This is what makes me happy, and I'm going to do it.
SULLIVAN: A reporter asked what he'd say to fans who are worried about him.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
TAGOVAILOA: I appreciate your concern. I really do. I love this game, and I love it to the death of me. That's it.
SULLIVAN: So he'll change the way he plays. The mobility that once added another level to his game is going to take a back seat. For now, he says, his priority is to stay available for the team.
Becky Sullivan, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MAC DEMARCO'S "VANCOUVER 3") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
