DeVante Parker unloads on NFL over handling of his head injury
DeVante Parker appeared to suffer a head injury during Thursday night’s game between the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals, but the game was not immediately stopped when he exhibited concussion-like symptoms. The veteran wide receiver is irate about that.
Parker caught a 10-yard pass in the first quarter of New England’s 27-13 win. He hit his head against the turf when he was tackled and was visibly woozy when he got to his feet. He then had trouble keeping his balance when he lined up for the next play.
Fellow Patriots receiver Nelson Agholor noticed that Parker did not look right and did everything he could to get the officials’ attention. Play was stopped, but only because the Cardinals challenged whether Parker made the catch. You can see the sequence here.
Parker took to Instagram on Tuesday to blast the NFL over the situation. NESN’s Zack Cox captured a screenshot.
“Get on yalls f—in job @nfl. Thankful my brother was aware of the situation @nelsonagholor_15,” Parker wrote on his Instagram story (edited by LBS for profanity).
The NFL has independent concussion spotters who are supposed to monitor for “no-go” symptoms throughout the game. Those spotters watch the TV broadcast of the game and live play. It is unclear how they did not recognize that Parker was dazed. That is something the league will have to address.
