Here’s my issue.
I have a TBI so I KNOW the protocols because I’ve had to DO the protocols. I’ve still got the printouts somewhere about restricted activities after a seizure or TBI. Flying within a WEEK is generally prohibited.
1) Anyone connected to this who says he had a back injury on Sunday is fucking lying. Period.
2) Per the letter of the concussion protocol, Tua’s staggering movement all by itself should have put him into the full concussion protocol. He clearly wasn’t in it because no way he’s cleared to play less than 4 days later.
3) Allowing him to fly home is a scandal. Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Tua is scheduled for an MRI in Miami… which means he almost certainly didn’t have one in Miami and there wasn’t enough time to have the one he needs, with contrast, because those take 30-45 minutes by themselves. What diagnostic tools were used to clear him to fly???
4) this is personal to me. I have a TBI. Anyone who was here remembers how hard I went during the CTE revelations. It’s personal in part because when TBIs are minimized in athletes, it trickles down. The shit I’ve heard directed to me and fellow vets… personally heard let alone recounted, is enough to induce rage
When all this is over, Drs will he fighting for their licenses, coaches and trainers will be fired and rules will change.
And I guarantee that the Dr who cleared him on Sunday is gonna get buried. His credentials won’t save him.