Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa called out teammates for lateness to player meetings and faced harsh criticism. Here's his clarification:
MIAMI GARDENS ― After a wave of national criticism about his comments following the last Miami Dolphins' game, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa opened up about it, days before a Week 7 game at the Cleveland Browns.
After Miami fell to 1-5 with a home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Tagovailoa said some players had either missed or were late for player-led meetings.
"As a leader of this team, the Miami Dolphins, the comments that had been said, I've made a mistake, and I'm owing up to that right now," Tua said. "I've talked to guys on the team and our leaders about it. They know my heart. The intent was right. But when things get misconstrued or however the media wants to portray it, that leaves a void of silence for the team. On 1-5, I just added onto the noise for our guys. I have to protect the team. I let the emotions of the game get to me. What happens in-house shoud be protected. I want to publicly apologize."
Tua said he needed to stay in the moment and got outside of that.
Tua said he would not agree that at this moment there is still a culture issue with the Dolphins.
"I wouldn't say that," Tua said.
Tua cited Alec, Ingold, Aaron Brewer, Austin Jackson and De'Von Achane as good leaders on the Dolphins' offense.
Tua declined to expand upon the significance of those player-led meetings.
"There hasn't been any bickering or pointing of fingers lately," Tua said.
What did Tua Tagovailoa say about Dolphins meetings?
“Yeah, well, I think it starts with the leadership in helping articulate that for the guys, and then what we're expecting out of the guys,” Tagovailoa said after the last game. “We're expecting this. Are we getting that? Are we not getting that? We have guys showing up to player-only meetings late. Guys not showing up to player-only meetings. There is a lot that goes into that. Do we have to make that mandatory? Do we not have to make that mandatory? So it's a lot of things of that nature that we got to get cleaned up. It starts with the little things like that.”
Initially, in a post-game news conference, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said that player-led meetings were not required and that the players had been meeting his requirements. He also said Tua was holding players accountable.
What is Mike McDaniel saying about Tua Tagovailoa comments?
After hearing Tua's comments, McDaniel said the next day that Tua understood a post-game news conference after a loss was not the best place to address the concern.
“It doesn’t surprise me, whatever reaction,” coach Mike McDaniel said two days after the game. “I think you know regardless of intent and what was on Tua’s mind after a loss as the franchise quarterback, that’s not the forum to displace that. I think he knows that now.”
Three days after the post-game comments McDaniel added: “The first, last and only thing if I have anything to say about it and I did in several meetings today is the Cleveland Browns and our focus within that regard. Absolutely, he communicated with his teammates both in group and individually, and there’s much bigger fish to fry in our team’s opinion and my opinion.”
What are Dolphins players saying about Tua Tagovailoa's comments?
Dolphins players who spoke the day after the game suggested there are some things that should be handled behind closed doors.
“Anything that happens within the building or anything we talk about with each other should stay between each other, you know what I’m saying?” center and fellow captain Aaron Brewer said. “It’s not for the outside world.”
Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa follows up on leadership call-out comments
Category: Football
