Two days after New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll’s untimely intrusion into the blue medical tent during “Thursday Night Football,” the NFL issued a memorandum to all 32 teams Saturday: Leave the doctors alone.
The memo, titled “Concussion Protocol Compliance Reminder,” is basically two long paragraphs of protocol jargon, but the NFL’s message was clear. Only medical personnel — not “coaches, front-office personnel and/or other players” — are allowed in the injury tent or the locker room when a player is being examined for a possible concussion.
Daboll triggered the memo by being a bit too eager to check on the condition of his quarterback. Jaxson Dart had to leave Thursday’s game after taking a hit to the shoulder late in the third quarter, with the Giants leading the Philadelphia Eagles 27-17. Daboll went over to the tent and poked his head inside, later explaining that he wanted to see if Dart would be cleared quickly enough to return for a potential fourth-down play.
“I just wanted (Dart’s) ass out there if he was OK,” Daboll said after the game, which the Giants won 34-17. “So I was asking, ‘How long is it going to take?’ So again, you want your guy out there — not at risk of anything else. But, you know, (the team doctor) came out, ‘I think he’s going to be good.’ I’m like, ‘Is he going to be good or not? I’m gonna call a timeout on fourth down and go for the (first down), you know?”
The exam didn’t go as fast as Daboll would have liked, so he brought in backup Russell Wilson for a couple of plays. After being cleared of a concussion, Dart returned early in the fourth quarter for the Giants’ next possession and finished the victory.
Dart has been checked for a concussion three times during games this season.
Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart was looked at on the field Thursday before he received attention in the blue medical tent on the sideline. (Elsa / Getty Images)
The league memo issued Saturday also reminded teams of how they could be penalized for interfering with player medical exams. Those punishments include “reprimand, remedial training, fines and/or the loss of draft picks.”
The NFL and NFL Players Association are investigating Daboll for possible violations of the concussion protocol.
“In no way would I want a player to come back out there that wasn’t ready to play,” Daboll said. “I think I have great respect for that process.”
Said Giants owner John Mara: “While I firmly believe, as he has stated, that he was not trying to influence the process in any way, he understands that the appearance of going to the tent is inappropriate.”
