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 swipe at following multiple concussions from Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
“There is already primetime programming where people kill themselves for our entertainment, it’s called Monday Night Football,” he joked. “Happy concussion season football fans! It sure feels like this sport maybe shouldn’t exist.”
Oliver’s dig comes as the NFL alongside the NFL Players Association completed their review of the concussion protocol following Tagovailoa’s injuries on the field. Tagovailoa suffered an injury during a September 25 match where he struggled to walk after taking a hit. The football player was later cleared to play the following week where he once again showed symptoms of having a concussion following another tackle.
“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 joint statement from the NFL and NFLPA read.
Both parties agreed to modify the protocol for the safety of the players by adding the term “ataxia to the mandatory no-go symptoms.”
“Ataxia is defined as abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue,” the statement continued. “In other words, if a player is diagnosed with ‘ataxia by any club or neutral physician involved in the application of the Concussion Protocol, he will be prohibited from returning to the game, and will receive the follow-up care required by the Protocol.”