The NFL world is rightfully distraught at Tua Tagovailoa’s scary injury that occurred during Thursday Night Football.
In the second quarter of Thursday’s game between the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals, Tagovailoa was brutally sacked and sustained head and neck injuries on the play. The injury comes just four days after Tagovailoa was seemingly concussed against the Buffalo Bills and had quite the frightening moment where he looked incredibly woozy, but returned to the game nonetheless.
At the time, NFL fans did not buy the explanation that it was a back injury, and unfortunately, their fears were realized in the worst possible way on Thursday.
Injury Update | Tua Tagovailoa is out of the game with head and neck injuries.
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 30, 2022
Tua Tagovailoa has been taken to a local hospital for further evaluation. He is conscious and has movement in all his extremities.
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 30, 2022
Outside of NFL fans sending their well wishes to Tagovailoa, many questioned how Amazon handled the coverage of the moment. Multiple slow-motion replays were shown among other still shots of Tagovailoa in pain on the field.
Not only that, but Amazon failed to properly relay the full story of Tagovailoa’s recent concussion history to its audience during halftime.
If there were a professional NFL journalist or reporter on this Amazon halftime set, the full story here would be told and analyzed. And the public would be more informed for it. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
— Pat Leonard (@PLeonardNYDN) September 30, 2022
Amazon halftime show makes no mention of what happened to Tua on Sunday against Buffalo. No mention of Dolphins letting him play after he literally didn’t know where he was.
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) September 30, 2022
To have any credibility whatsoever, Amazon must have someone who will raise the obvious question of whether Tua should have been playing at all tonight, after what happened on Sunday.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) September 30, 2022
Even Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt spoke up on Twitter to condemn Amazon’s poor coverage.
Stop showing the replays. Please.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) September 30, 2022
NFL fans didn’t hold back their criticisms of Amazon after Tagovailoa’s injury.
The discussion from Michaels and Herbstreit has been OK and credit to them for quoting a doctor rather than speculating. But Amazon needs to answer for the decision to show the replay so many times. Felt gratuitous and invasive and unnecessary.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) September 30, 2022
Tua didn’t need to play on Thursday.
Amazon didn’t need to zoom in and replay it in slow motion.
Just an amazing amount of insensitivity from so many people.
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) September 30, 2022
Amazon just did an entire halftime segment on Tua without mentioning that Tua was tested for a concussion 4 days ago or that the NFLPA requested an investigation.
— Gregg Rosenthal (@greggrosenthal) September 30, 2022
I’m mostly a Neanderthal when it comes to my football violence but Amazon for sure didn’t need to keep running that fingers replay
— Eddie Gonzalez (@bansky) September 30, 2022
Also STOP showing the replay Amazon. And STOP showing him lying there on the ground — this doesn’t need to be re-aired throughout the game either, nor should it be. https://t.co/AhOIxuXJ3W
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) September 30, 2022
While Miami’s handling of Tua’s injury from last week will deservedly be scrutinized after the game, media columnists should also scrutinize Amazon’s egregious showings of this replay tonight.
— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) September 30, 2022
Stop showing the replay. Good lord, Amazon.
— Matt Infante (@MattyInfante) September 30, 2022
Amazon should be ashamed with how they just handled the replay of that injury
— Jason Willis (@_JasonWillis) September 30, 2022
Amazon, the NFL, and the TNF camera/replay crew should be ashamed of themselves. I've got many more thoughts, but I'm not going to say them. No one wants to watch a replay of that 5 or 6 times. We don't need a replay @NFLonPrime
— Joe Riechers (@JAR_MAN98) September 30, 2022
I know Ryan Fitzpatrick is feeling awful for Tua right now. Amazon running that replay back over and over for all to see what just disgusting on top of Miami's utter negligence and willful endangerment of Tua's season and career.
— 🌸Prince Riku Lyonheart (@RikuLyonheart) September 30, 2022
The @MiamiDolphins just failed Tua. How could you let him on the field after last week? Especially on short week. Shame on everyone involved. And shame on @amazon for continually showing it.
— Justin Pugh (@JustinPugh) September 30, 2022
Amazon’s broadcast really didn’t need to show that injury more than once, if that.
— William McFadden (@willmcfadden) September 30, 2022
I've worked in the trucks and NBC had an adamant rule of not showing horrid injuries, not sure what Amazon was thinking with that. completely unnecessary.
— Jamie Lynch (@jelynchjr) September 30, 2022
Horrible, horrible stuff from the Amazon production crew with that prolonged shot of Tua in physical distress on the ground. And then they showed it again????
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) September 30, 2022
Yeah Amazon I could do without the 4K replay of Tuas awful spinal/neurological injury.
— Dain C (@DCB_KCK) September 30, 2022
