CTE doctor: Tua Tagovailoa must retire right now!

The sports world collectively held its breath as Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered what looked to be a frightening head injury during Thursday's against the Cincinnati Bengals after he was slammed head first onto the field while being sacked; he would have to be stabilized on a backboard and taken away to a hospital via ambulance. 

Of course, this came on the heels of his having potentially suffered a concussion in the previous week's game against the Buffalo Bills, leading to understandable scrutiny of the Dolphins medical staff. One major domino has already fallen, as the independent CTE specialist who cleared Tagovailoa has been terminated. 

And now, famous neuropathologist Bennet Omalu is urging the Dolphins quarterback to stop playing all together. Omalu, who was the first to discover CTE in brains of diceased athletes and veterans and also penned the book “Brain Damage in Contact Sports”, issued the following message to Tagovailoa. 

“Tua, my brother. I love you,” Omalu told TMZ. “I love you as much as I love my son. Stop playing. Stop. Hang your helmet and gallantly walk away.”

“My advice to him is, look, it’s time,” Omalu said. “You’ve suffered severe, long-term permanent brain damage. He seized… If you love your life. If you love your family, you love your kids, if you have kids, it’s time to gallantly walk away. Go find something else to do. 

“He should stop. Sometimes money is not more valuable than human life. $20 billion is not worth more than your brain.”

Meanwhile, NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith has promised to pursue "every legal option" with regards to the Dolphins' handling of Tagovailoa.