Skip to main content
Join Now

Tua Tagovailoa issues public apology after calling out Dolphins teammates' dedication

by: Alex Byington3 hours ago_AlexByington
NFL: Los Angeles Chargers at Miami Dolphins
Oct 12, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) looks on from thevbench against the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa issued a public apology on Wednesday for postgame comments critizing teammates for allegedly showing up late to a players-only meeting last week. Tagovailoa expressed his frustrations with a lack of leadership and individual discipline following last Sunday’s 29-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that dropped the Dolphins to 1-5 on the season.

“I made a mistake and I’m owning up to it right now,” Tagovailoa said Wednesday, according to video provided by ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “I’ve talked to guys on the team about it, talked to the leaders about it, and they know my heart, they know that the intent was right. But no matter the intent, … when things get misconstrued or however the media wants to portray it, that leaves a void of silence and a lot of questions for the guys on our team.

“Now being 1-5, we talk a lot about, ‘Alright, we’ve got to get this going … come in excited to go to work and forget about the noise,’ and I feel like I just added onto that for our guys,” Tagovailoa added. “For myself, I have to look at myself as a leader protecting the team, and I don’t feel like I did that to the best of my abilities. I felt like I let the emotions of the game get to me after the game, and that’s something I can learn from as a leader on this team. What happens in-house should be protected, and none of that should’ve gotten out. So I want to publicly apologize about that, I want to move forward, and now I want to focus on the Cleveland Browns.”

Tagovailoa’s apology comes three days after he seemed to call out multiple teammates for their perceived lackadaisical approach to working to fix what’s ailed the Dolphins this season. The rant came after another difficult game for Tagovailoa, who threw three costly interceptions in a 21-of-32 passing effort for just 205 yards and one touchdown against the Chargers.

“I think it starts with the leadership and helping articulate that for the guys and what we’re expecting out of the guys,” Tagovailoa said Sunday after the loss. “We’re expecting this, are we getting that? We have guys showing up to player only meetings late, guys not showing up to player only meetings. There’s a lot that goes into that that. Do we have to make this mandatory? Do we not have to make this mandatory? So it’s a lot of things of that nature that we’ve got to get cleaned up and it starts with the little things like that.”

Miami has now lost back-to-back games since its lone win of the season against the New York Jets in Week 4. The Dolphins hit the road this weekend to face the Cleveland Browns at 1 pm ET Sunday.