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Doctor on Tua Tagovailoa returning to game: 'Your life is worth more than $10 billion'
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. JIM RASSOL/THE PALM BEACH POST / USA TODAY NETWORK

'Concussion' doctor on Tua Tagovailoa returning to game: 'Your life is worth more than $10 billion'

Fame neuropathologist Bennet Omalu, the doctor whose work in discovering CTE inspired the Will Smith movie "Concussion," had some harsh words for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for returning to Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills.

Omalu told TMZ that he suspects Tagovialoa suffered a concussion based on what he saw during the game broadcast and that he should not have returned to the game.

"Your life should be worth more to you than any amount of money," Omalu said, via TMZ. "Your life is worth more than $10 billion, 'cause you can't replace your life. You have only one life."

Tagovialoa was injured just before halftime when he was shoved to the ground by Bills linebacker Matt Milano. As he stood up and walked toward the huddle he held his head, stumbled, and fell to the ground. The Dolphins initially said he was questionable to return with a head injury.

But when the second half began Tagovialoa was back under center. After the game, he and head coach Mike McDaniels said that it was actually an earlier back injury that caused him to fall to the ground.

Immediately after the game, the NFLPA launched an investigation as to whether or not the league's concussion protocols were correctly followed

While public criticism has been mostly directed at the Dolphins for putting Tagovailoa back into the game, Omalu said that ultimately the duty has to fall on the players and that Tagovailoa could have said no. 

The Dolphins won the game, 21-19, to improve to 3-0 on the season, leaving them as one of only two unbeaten teams in the league through the first three weeks of the season.

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