Taulia Tagovailoa opened his weekly press conference on Tuesday to share his gratitude, and thanks to the media for their concern about his brother, Tua Tagovailoa, after suffering two concussions against the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals in back-to-back weeks.
“I appreciate all the support and the love for my brother. I got to see him after the game on Saturday. I went to Florida and he’s doing good. Everything’s fine. My biggest thing was just seeing him and spending as much time as I can with him. I came back Sunday night and yeah, I just want [to say I] appreciate you guys for all the love and support you guys have for me and my family. So, thank you.”
The bond between Taulia Tagovailoa and his brother is strong. His face lights up when he talks about him.
Taulia Tagovailoa was watching the Dolphins-Bengals at his apartment with some family in Virginia, and he saw the play unfold. When injuries happen to Tua, Taulia acknowledged that it’s hard for him to cope with that because Tua has had injuries at all three levels of the sport.
“My brother’s my heart, he’s someone I look up to, someone I talk to every day. So it was just a hard scene for me to see. It was a good thing we practiced [Thursday]. We finished Thursday’s practice and coming in Friday, everyone [saw] how I was, and their support [helped me].”
Maryland football coaches and players rallied around their quarterback, helping him to smile, but also giving him many shoulders to cry on. It was hard for Taulia to get his mind off of that since he didn’t talk to Tua Thursday night or Friday.
He was so worried about Tua and called his mom every hour for updates on his status.
“Friday night after our team dinner, he finally called me. My brother called me, and I really just wanted to go there and spend time with my family and hug him… he told me he’s a big fan of us, and he’d rather watch me play on Saturday and win. So, after that phone call, I was happy and back to my normal routine and stuff again,” Taulia said about the moment he felt relief.
There was no doubt in Taulia’s mind that he was going to play the Michigan State game, he just needed to get his mind right to play.
“Yeah, of course, I wanted to go to my family and not play the game, but that would be very selfish for me. We put in hard work together, and I know how much my team needs me, and they’re my family too. The biggest thing was I feel like God works during crazy times. Friday, I didn’t want to play the game. Friday night, I was excited to play the game because my brother called me and said he wants to see us win.”
Player health and safety is at the core of the union's mission. Our concern tonight is for Tua and we hope for a full and speedy recovery. Our investigation into the potential protocol violation is ongoing.
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) September 30, 2022
The NFLPA says it will "pursue every legal option" as it investigates whether Tua Tagovailoa should have played on Thursday night pic.twitter.com/eonATn5fGJ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 30, 2022
https://twitter.com/Tua/status/1575961296423784449?s=20&t=tfy_Ugbh1x-pFwZfa8a-uw
The Miami Dolphins came under much scrutiny after Tua suffered the second one, where Tua hit his head on the field, once again causing a neurological response called fencing.
This event and all the outrage that ensued put a spotlight on the Dolphins and the NFL’s concussion protocol. As of now, the NFL’s independent neurologist no longer has the job, Tua Tagovailoa remains in concussion protocol and his interview in the joint NFL-NFLPA probe is a final piece in the investigation.
Taulia Tagovailoa and the Terps take on the Purdue Boilermakers at noon eastern on Saturday, October 8. They look to get to 5-1 and earn their second straight home victory in Big Ten play. You can see the game on the Big Ten Network.
