Tua coming back

and people who get paid to diagnose and treat concussions for a living said his current concussion has cleared and he's healthy enough to play.

And he and his family weighed and understand the risks and accept them.

Always have to love the fan who knows more the player and the medical staff who examine and treat the player.

and has determined the risk is worth it. No one on here has any clue what they’d do in that scenario - sounds great to say you wouldn’t play until you are put in position to being one of the top 5-10 people in the world at something and love doing it.

If Tia should just retire then shouldn’t all the other players that get concussions do the same?

In comment 16657344 pjcas18 said:

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and people who get paid to diagnose and treat concussions for a living said his current concussion has cleared and he's healthy enough to play. And he and his family weighed and understand the risks and accept them. Always have to love the fan who knows more the player and the medical staff who examine and treat the player.

I don't know beans about doctoring..I do know one thing,all the money in the world could not save my wife's death.All the money in the world will not get these 2 young men out of the wheelchair if a certain blow to either of them happens..

In comment 16657348 Big Tom said:

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In comment 16657344 pjcas18 said: Quote: and people who get paid to diagnose and treat concussions for a living said his current concussion has cleared and he's healthy enough to play. And he and his family weighed and understand the risks and accept them. Always have to love the fan who knows more the player and the medical staff who examine and treat the player. I don't know beans about doctoring..I do know one thing,all the money in the world could not save my wife's death.All the money in the world will not get these 2 young men out of the wheelchair if a certain blow to either of them happens..

the wheel chair risk is there for every football player every time they take the field. And for every person every time they get on a car or do many every day tasks. Of course the risk is greater for Tua to sustain an injury, but again, who are you to know or say what risk is too much for him or his family to accept. You admit you don't know anything medically or you're probably not in his inner circle.

unless your wife died via concussion, not sure how her death, while probably tragic (not sure how your wife died, but i do offer condolences - my post is not an attack on you in any way), but how is your wife's death relevant to Tua?

He knows the risk. Football is what he loves. I applaud him for coming back if thats what he wants to do. Thats a warrior.

In comment 16657356 Straw Hat said:

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He knows the risk. Football is what he loves. I applaud him for coming back if thats what he wants to do. Thats a warrior.

I saw a short clip earlier. When asked if he would wear the helmet cap he said no. He also said there's risk in driving a car.

In comment 16657348 Big Tom said:

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In comment 16657344 pjcas18 said: Quote: and people who get paid to diagnose and treat concussions for a living said his current concussion has cleared and he's healthy enough to play. And he and his family weighed and understand the risks and accept them. Always have to love the fan who knows more the player and the medical staff who examine and treat the player. I don't know beans about doctoring..I do know one thing,all the money in the world could not save my wife's death.All the money in the world will not get these 2 young men out of the wheelchair if a certain blow to either of them happens..

You are right about everything here, except it's not your dream, it's his. No one can tell someone what to sacrifice for their dream. I'm pretty sure the risks have been explained to Tua. Maybe you wouldn't sacrifice your health for money and glory, but some would sacrifice that and more for their chance at it. I wish all the best and hope he changes some of his ply style so he can have a long career and enjoy his life after.

There's an infamous interview with Tua's dad about how he'd beat him with a belt after bad games, forced him to be a lefty, and also chose Alabama for him. Sad, but I don't think he stops playing until he can't make a team.

I’d imagine he will when he returns?

In comment 16657354 pjcas18 said:

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In comment 16657348 Big Tom said: Quote: In comment 16657344 pjcas18 said: Quote: and people who get paid to diagnose and treat concussions for a living said his current concussion has cleared and he's healthy enough to play. And he and his family weighed and understand the risks and accept them. Always have to love the fan who knows more the player and the medical staff who examine and treat the player. I don't know beans about doctoring..I do know one thing,all the money in the world could not save my wife's death.All the money in the world will not get these 2 young men out of the wheelchair if a certain blow to either of them happens.. the wheel chair risk is there for every football player every time they take the field. And for every person every time they get on a car or do many every day tasks. Of course the risk is greater for Tua to sustain an injury, but again, who are you to know or say what risk is too much for him or his family to accept. You admit you don't know anything medically or you're probably not in his inner circle. unless your wife died via concussion, not sure how her death, while probably tragic (not sure how your wife died, but i do offer condolences - my post is not an attack on you in any way), but how is your wife's death relevant to Tua?

I'm fully aware of all the risks these guys have,even when they are healthy. But when the accident happens to a loved one,we the family suffer as well.Whether a health issue,or an accident it hurts everyone involved.I remember many yrs ago,an NFL widereceiver was hit,and he wound up in a wheelchair for life..I do not know the answer to the question if asked of him..Was it worth it to play?

decision. They will have to drag him off a field for his own benefit. He won't go of his own accord. (neither will Jones for that matter).

This is their livelihood and they want to be successful at what they do. Think about how miserable you may be if somebody took away something you loved doing.

I'm sure they understand the risk and the reward of success outweighs the risk. If it was just about the money, he would have called it quits.

In comment 16657384 NYG123 said:

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I’d imagine he will when he returns?

Negative- he already said yesterday that he will not. He called it a "personal decision"

...and has been informed of what the long term risks are, then it's his decision to make, and it appears he's going to take the risk and play. That said, he can't have it both ways, so when he comes down with mental or physical issues in the future, he can't come back and blame the NFL. HE made the decision despite the known risks, so it'll be his responsibility in 10 or 15 years when/ if he's having issues.

Was Luke Kuechly. He was the best LB in football when he retired. Suffered many concussions but was the heart and soul of those good Panthers Defenses. He was my favorite LB to watch in the league and remember scouting him at BC. In his retirement speech he said (while holding back tears) "I still want too play...but i don't think it's the right decision."

This is what Tua needs to understand. You have to think about your quality of life. We get work up over football a lot here, but we all understand, at the end of the day, this is a game.

In comment 16657461 GoDeep13 said:

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Was Luke Kuechly. He was the best LB in football when he retired. Suffered many concussions but was the heart and soul of those good Panthers Defenses. He was my favorite LB to watch in the league and remember scouting him at BC. In his retirement speech he said (while holding back tears) "I still want too play...but i don't think it's the right decision." This is what Tua needs to understand. You have to think about your quality of life. We get work up over football a lot here, but we all understand, at the end of the day, this is a game.

Why do you think Tua doesn’t understand?

It’s also entirely possible the Kuechley had worse symptoms and diagnosis than Tua. You can equate the two.

In comment 16657461 GoDeep13 said:

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Was Luke Kuechly. He was the best LB in football when he retired. Suffered many concussions but was the heart and soul of those good Panthers Defenses. He was my favorite LB to watch in the league and remember scouting him at BC. In his retirement speech he said (while holding back tears) "I still want too play...but i don't think it's the right decision." This is what Tua needs to understand. You have to think about your quality of life. We get work up over football a lot here, but we all understand, at the end of the day, this is a game.

To fans it's a game, but to the players, coaching staffs, front offices, other employees, etc. it's not a game, it's a business and their livelihood, and for many of the players it's something they have trained most of their life to do and the only thing they have trained to do.

Tua likely understands it better than you or any of us do.

I know he says he loves the game and can't walk away but at some point, enough is enough also the personal decision to not wear the guardian just doesn't make sense.

Some people are willing to risk a lot more than most of us would ever dream. Tua knows what he's willing to risk. That's his decision to make.

In comment 16657469 pjcas18 said:

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In comment 16657461 GoDeep13 said: Quote: Was Luke Kuechly. He was the best LB in football when he retired. Suffered many concussions but was the heart and soul of those good Panthers Defenses. He was my favorite LB to watch in the league and remember scouting him at BC. In his retirement speech he said (while holding back tears) "I still want too play...but i don't think it's the right decision." This is what Tua needs to understand. You have to think about your quality of life. We get work up over football a lot here, but we all understand, at the end of the day, this is a game. To fans it's a game, but to the players, coaching staffs, front offices, other employees, etc. it's not a game, it's a business and their livelihood, and for many of the players it's something they have trained most of their life to do and the only thing they have trained to do. Tua likely understands it better than you or any of us do.

No. He's stubborn. He's allowed to be stubborn. I'm sure no one close too him would tell him it's a good idea.

People that do Crack and meth know it isn't good for them, but keep doing it. Same with alcoholics. If he needs a therapist or intervention for him to get over his dependence on football then fine. But he isn't making a sound choice.

You know exactly how its going to end just not sure how soon or how badly. Absolutely Tua's choice. Not all decisions are good ones....

one is an addiction and the other generates a lot of good. You should probably look up Tuas background and how close he is with his community - easy for us to say he has all the money in the world but what if he wants to help even more people than just his family?

he's making the wrong one.

Hope it doesn't end badly for him.

he can't say he didn't know like the guys of previous generations. I think I'm going to try and avoid Dolphins games. I don't want to see him get knocked again.

I remember listening to Francesa on a Sunday before the games started. He used to have a doctor on for a segment to talk about injuries. The doctor was talking about Tony Romo's shoulder problems and how each time it gets injured it's more susceptible to injury. He compared Romo's shoulder to a potato chip because it had been injured so many times.

With Tua it's his brain, not a shoulder. We know that once a serious concussion occurs it takes less of a blow for another concussion to occur. How many times has Tua been knocked out? It's going to be scary for me to watch him play again. Will the NFL ever step in to try and prevent a catastrophe? Can they legally do that?

and their role in player safety, but you want them to be able to tell players when they should retire and remove them from the league?

Unless there’s a change to the concussion protocol there’s nothing the nfl can or should do. At a certain point it’s a risk and you signed up for that and what happens, happens. And do you stop at concussions? What about Damar Hamlin?

can't prevent a player from playing who gets cleared medically. I think it would probably violate some law.

It's not just football, many athletes feel the same way as Tua. I shared this clip on the last Tua thread too. Paul Kariya is in the hockey HOF. He was literally knocked unconscious in game 6 of the 2003 SCF by a dirty hit from Scott Stevens. He went to the locker room, missed 11 minutes of the game, came back and scored a goal. He remembers none of it. He was eventually forced to retire from hockey due to the number of concussions but has no regrets and wishes he was still playing or able to play.

6 documented concussions in his NHL career, probably actually over a dozen in the NHL and many before.

People can of course make their own decision to watch sports or not, but the pearl clutching is a bit much.

I would call it a career if I was Tua, but I'm not him & it's his life.

Was diagnosed with CTE during the autopsy after he committed suicide. CTE is caused by many brain injuries. Tua certainly might fit into that category, I certainly hope not? But his refusal to even wear the extra cap sure points towards this methinks.