Bennet Omalu, the neuropathologist who has been credited with finding chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in ex-football players, is once again calling on Tua Tagovailoa to step away from the game.
Omalu told TMZ Sports that the Dolphins quarterback, who suffered his third known concussion on “Thursday Night Football” against the Bills this week, could become “permanently incapacitated” if he does any more damage to his brain.
The doctor, who was portrayed by Will Smith in the 2015 film “Concussion” on his life and work, urged Tagovailoa to retire from the NFL for the second time in less than two years.
“If I were his brother, his father, his uncle, cousin, nephew, if I were a member of his family,” Omalu said, per TMZ. “I would beg him to retire … Find something else to do.”
Omalu said something similar two years ago after Tagovailoa was taken off the field on a stretcher during a game in 2022 against the Bengals.
“He should stop. Sometimes money is not more valuable than human life. $20 billion is not worth more than your brain.”
Tagovailoa went down in a scary third-quarter scene in which he ran head-first into Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin during Miami’s 31-10 loss to Buffalo.
His two previous concussions came during a multi-week span during the 2022 season.
A chorus of former NFL players ‚ and even current Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce — echoed Omalu’s sentiment, pushing the 26-year-old to hang up the cleats.
Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said Friday that he had “zero idea” when — or if — Tagovailoa would take the field again, adding that it was too early to have the retirement conversation.
“I think it’d be so wrong of me to even sniff that subject,” head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters on Friday. “It’s more in line with actually caring about the human being. You’re talking about his career … I totally get that’s where people want to go to, but I wish people would hear what I am saying, bringing up his future is not in the best interest of him.
“I am going to plead with everybody that does genuinely care that should be the last thing on your mind.”
