John Oliver called out the National Football League (NFL) during Sunday’s episode of Last week tonight on HBO and HBO Max. The theme of the night was crime reporting, and the comedian took a hit after suffering multiple concussions from Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
“There are already prime time shows where people kill themselves for our entertainment, they say Football on Monday night‘ he joked. “Happy concussion season football fans! It sure feels like maybe this sport shouldn’t exist.”
Oliver’s dig comes as the NFL, along with the NFL Players Association, completed their review of concussion protocol following Tagovailoa’s on-field injuries. Tagovailoa suffered an injury during a game on September 25 that made it difficult for him to walk after being hit. The soccer player was later cleared for the following week’s game, where he again showed symptoms of concussion after another tackle.
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“The parties concluded that while the step-by-step process outlined in the concussion protocol was followed, the outcome in this case was not what was intended when the protocol was drafted,” the NFL-NFLPA joint statement said .
Both parties agreed to change the player safety protocol by adding the term “ataxia” to the mandatory no-go symptoms.
“Ataxia is defined as an abnormality in balance/stability, motor coordination, or speech impairment caused by a neurological problem,” the statement continued. “In other words, if a player is diagnosed with ataxia by a club or neutral doctor involved in the application of the concussion protocol, he will be banned from returning to the game and receive the follow-up care required by the protocol.”