PUEBLO COUNTY — On Saturday, the NFL and NFL Players Association took to Twitter to announce adjustments to the league's concussion protocols.
Joint NFL-NFLPA Statement pic.twitter.com/u8KVbTsL9J
— NFL (@NFL) October 8, 2022
The announcement comes amid controversy after Miami Dolphins' Quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, suffered back-to-back head injuries several weeks ago.
One Physician in Pueblo, Doctor Rocky Khosla, said seeing Tagovailoa suffer repeated injuries made him "cringe".
Tagovailoa appeared to stumble and lose his balance in the first game after a hit, then his hands appeared to seize up after a hit in the next game.
"No way would we have, if we used our protocol, allowed Tua to have continued that Sunday night," said Dr. Khosla, who spearheads concussion protocols in School District 60, District 70, and at CSU Pueblo.
Dr. Khosla says he began working on a detailed and transparent concussion protocol for Pueblo's student athletes in 2010.
"This may be a teachable moment to say... We are nowhere near where we need to be, having a good, unified, transparent concussion protocols in the NFL," said Dr. Khosla.
The NFL's new Protocols will take effect immediately, now including the term 'ataxia' to the list of mandatory 'no-go' symptoms.
"Ataxia describes poor muscle control that causes clumsy voluntary movements. It may cause difficulty with walking and balance, hand coordination, speech and swallowing, and eye movements."
Dr. Khosla warns parents to pay extra close attention to their student athletes as the football playoff season approaches, saying athletes may minimize their symptoms in order to continue playing through a concussion.
"No game is worth damage to the brain. No game is worth taking a chance. When we hold kids out, we're not doing it because we get big pleasure by just torturing kids, that makes no sense... We're trying to be conservative and if ever there's question, always err on the side of caution," said Dr. Khosla.
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