John Oliver took a jab at the NFL on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, going as far as saying the sport shouldn’t exist.
The HBO show’s host focused his main segment on crime reporting, noting how local TV news spends a disproportionate amount of time on crime stories, and took the opportunity to criticize the NFL during the segment.
“There is already primetime programming where people kill themselves for our entertainment — it’s called Monday Night Football,” he quipped. “Happy concussion season football fans! It sure feels like this sport maybe shouldn’t exist.”
His comments come in the wake of an injury sustained by Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who appeared disoriented and was stumbling after being slammed to the ground during a Sept. 25 game. Tagovailoa, who was said to have suffered a back injury, was cleared of any head injury after going through the NFL’s concussion protocol and was allowed to return to the game, a move that drew widespread criticism.
As a result, the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed to make changes to the league’s concussion protocol.
