‘It’s Gross Negligence!’ Former NFL Star Tiki Barber Slams Yankees for Letting Anthony Rizzo Play With a Concussion for Two Months

By Ahmad AustinAug 4th, 2023, 5:10 pm
 

New York Giants legend Tiki Barber was furious after the Yankees revealed first baseman Anthony Rizzo had been dealing with a “likely” concussion for more than two months.

The team believes the injury came from a collision Rizzo had with San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. during a May 28 game. Since then, the team assured fans multiple times that Rizzo was healthy before finally placing him on the Injured List on Thursday.

Later that afternoon, Barber went on WFAN’s Evan & Tiki and laid into the team for what he called “gross negligence.”

“How mismanaged is this?” Barber said.

“Evan [Roberts], I gotta tell you, I’m just rewatching this May 28 Anthony Rizzo-Tatis … The more I think about this, the more I really have to say the Yankees are grossly negligent in the handling of Anthony Rizzo’s mind and his brain. He got a traumatic brain injury right there, and they just sloughed it off like it was a neck injury. It’s gross. It’s gross negligence. This is terrible!”

Over the last two months, Rizzo has struggled mightily at the plate and has looked like a shell of himself. While many fans assumed it was just a bad slump, the reality of the situation is that he was likely still dealing with symptoms from the incident with Tatis.

Barber added that the MLB should takes notes from the NFL when it comes to treating head injuries.

“Rizzo is an old-school athlete, man. He’s gonna play. He’s gonna play,” Barber said. “You gotta protect him against himself. As soon as you saw he had a concussion, you should’ve put him on the IL.

“You get a concussion in the NFL, they take your helmet and you’re not playing.”

Watch above via SNY

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