She expressed her concern over the way the concussion was handled in the game. There is a time and a place.
The team initially believed the tight end injured a shoulder and did not show concussion symptoms until the second half, which is why it raised some eyebrows.
With 35 seconds to go in the second quarter, Brate's head hit Chris's shoulder as he ran across the field. The crowd gasped when Brate flung backward.
He left the sideline. He didn't complain of anything about his head. Three times he was checked out. You say, "Give him a moment." There wasn't anything coming up. He stayed until the end of the half. He began to have symptoms at the half time break. He was starting to complain about that. He was tested and kept out of the rest of the game.
Brate was slow to get up after laying on the field for a short time. There is an arm around him. Brate ran into an official as he left the field. It's not clear what caused him to run into the official, as players with concussions aren't allowed to speak to the media, and Brate wasn't available after the game to answer questions about it.
After going to the sideline, Brate didn't go into the medical tent to be examined and was back on the field. He was ruled out with a concussion in the third quarter, but he didn't suffer any additional blows to the head.
He complained about his shoulder, not his head, so no one tested him for a concussion. If you only complain about the shoulder, you won't be able to talk about concussions. He had symptoms about his head at the half time break. You need a second for your shoulder when you say your shoulder is hurting. Nobody is looking at your head. You go back in after the halftime break and you find out that you have a concussion. It's all you can do.
Tony Dungy, who was on the sideline working as an analyst for NBC, was critical of Brate going back into the game and called the concussion protocol a "broken system". He was concerned as to why the officials didn't stop the game.
Over the last week, the league's handling of concussions has come under scrutiny. The Miami Dolphins' handling of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who showed signs of neurological impairment after taking a hit from the Buffalo Bills in Week 3, was the subject of an investigation by the National Football League and the National Football League Players Association.
Tagovailoa was cleared to return to the game by an independent neurologist after he was hit by Josh Tupou on Thursday Night Football, and appeared to exhibit what's called a "fencing response," which is when a player is hit multiple times. He was taken to the hospital on a stretcher. The independent neurologist who cleared Tagovailoa to play has been terminated. Tagovailoa is in the concussion protocol and won't be able to play this week.
In Brate's case, the Bucs depended on him speaking up about his symptoms, and it might shed light on a layer of the concussion protocol that needs to be reexamined, in which the responsibility shifts from players self- reporting to those charged with the task of monitoring them.
A current loophole in the protocol allows a player to return to a game if the team says the player's injury was caused by another injury. Trainers and independent neurologists were told to be careful this week.
It is important for players to speak up. We need to see it as well. We see a hard hit, someone upside the head, you want to look at it. There are some things you don't see in this area that may have delayed reaction with a knee- jerk thing. Player safety is important for us. We don't want to play anyone that is hurt.
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