Medical consultant who cleared Tua Tagovailoa during concussion check on Sunday is ‘FIRED’

The Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultant (UNC) who was involved in Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion check last Sunday has been fired, it has been reported.

Tagovailoa finished out the Dolphins’ win over the Bills after receiving a brutal hit in the first half, as his head hit the turf and he fell to the ground after standing up.

The news of the UNC’s termination was first reported by ProFootballTalk .

The Dolphins classed their quarterback’s ailment as a back injury and said that he was not concussed, but many were skeptical of that diagnosis at the time, including Harvard-educated neuroscientist Chris Nowinski.

‘I’m calling bulls*** on the ”back tweak theory,”’ Nowinski tweeted. 

‘Watch the vid. Tua shakes his head multiple times to ‘clear the cobwebs’, which is a specific sign of vision impairment after #concussion. He also wobbles getting up before falling. His return is a fail @NFL.’

The gravity of his injury last weekend vs. the Bills was reinforced Thursday against the Bengals, as he left the field on a stretcher after another brutal blow to the head.

That time, Tagovailoa was diagnosed with a concussion and hospitalized (he was discharged Thursday night and flew home with the team), lending credence to the idea that he shouldn’t have been playing in the Dolphins’ Week 4 matchup to begin with.

‘This is a disaster. Pray for Tua. Fire the medical staffs and coaches,’ Nowinski said after the Thursday injury.

Tagovailoa was taken off on a stretcher Thursday after a second concerning blow in just four days  – coach Mike McDaniel (right) said he spoke to his QB as he was taken off the field

‘I predicted this and I hate that I am right. Two concussions in 5 days can kill someone. This can end careers. How are we so stupid in 2022.’

The quarterback tweeted the following day that he was feeling ‘much better,’ though there is currently no timetable for his return to football.

‘I want to thank everyone for all of their prayers and support since the game last night,’ he wrote. ‘It was difficult to not be able to finish the game and be there with my teammates, but I am grateful for the support and care I’ve received from the Dolphins, my friends and family, and all the people who have reached out.

‘I’m feeling much better and focused on recovering so I can get back out on the field with my teammates.’

Initial testing did not reveal any structural damage, and Tagovailoa has been spotted been wearing a neck brace as a precaution.

Tagovailoa was reportedly in ‘good spirits’ back in Florida after Thursday’s injury

But while the Dolphins insist Tagovailoa’s injury was not a concussion, the two apparent head injuries have worried fans as suffering two concussions in a week is extremely dangerous and can even result in death.

Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel vowed that the organization had done things right after the quarterback’s Thursday injury.

‘I get the optics, I get how it looks like, I get all of this, I get people’s concern,’ he said.

‘I can exude with 100 percent conviction that every person in this building had 100 percent the correct process, diligence and there is not one person you could talk to in the building that would think otherwise.’