Al Michaels under fire AGAIN for Tua Tagovailoa comments during Dolphins v Bills game on Thursday Night Football broadcast

Amazon Prime live broadcast commentator Al Michaels found himself in hot water after making a comment about Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion during Thursday night’s streamed broadcast.

Quarterback Tagovailoa suffered the third concussion of his NFL career when he fell hard to the grass in the third quarter of the Miami Dolphins’ loss to the Buffalo Bills on Thursday.

Tagovailoa appeared to immediately respond with screens after colliding with Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who himself suffered a cardiac arrest on the field in January 2023.

He met Hamlin in the open field and led with his head instead of sliding. The signalman went down after the impact and hit his head on the Hard Rock grass.

Michaels, who called Prime’s “Thursday Night Football,” responded to reporter Kaylee Hartung’s report that Tagovailoa would not return to the game due to a concussion by saying, “A little bit of irony, he got hit by Damar Hamlin. You know the story.”

Tua Tagovailoa (left) suffered a concussion after a collision with Damar Hamlin (right)

The comment drew the ire of NFL fans on social media, who criticized the 79-year-old commentator for his “unnecessary” remark.

“Apart from Damar being almost a spectator here, that’s hardly a tackle,” said one user, responding to a clip of the broadcast on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Tua dropped his head and shoulders instead of sliding, for some unknown reason. So that felt really unnecessary for Al on a lot of fronts.”

“I thought Michael’s comment was unnecessary,” agreed another.

“I think it’s a coincidence, not irony,” wrote a third, while another added: “It’s not ironic. It’s just a coincidence.”

Others claimed the insensitive phone call was a suggestion that Michaels, who turns 80 in November, should retire from sports reporting.

NFL fans on social media criticized Michaels for his comment about the scary incident

“Al Michaels needs to retire after this year man… He just doesn’t feel like doing it anymore,” one social media user wrote.

Another added: ‘Al Michaels; you need to respectfully retire. You will be remembered for making some of the most iconic calls but your time is up.’

“Al is trying to get fired already so he doesn’t have to announce another Thursday night football game,” one fan suggested, while another agreed by saying, “Al is really doing everything he can…”

Earlier in the game, Michaels again faced criticism when fans criticized his “lack of energy” call before the Bills’ thrilling early touchdown.

Michaels has long been the voice of soccer in America. He has been with NBC since 2006 and has been a reporter for Amazon since its founding in 2022.

Michaels is back for another season as host of Amazon’s NFL coverage, but it comes just months after NBC dealt him a major blow.

The Dolphins quarterback suffered a concussion after a tackle by Hamlin

Tagovailoa was able to leave the field under his own power before returning to the locker room

Last season, he failed to cover any of the announcer’s four NFL playoff games, ending a streak of 17 seasons — much to Michaels’ surprise.

He has been part of the network’s postseason football coverage every year since his appointment in 2006, but was left out of the squad last season.

NBC’s top commentating duo of Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth, who handle the network’s “Sunday Night Football” duties each week, reported on three broadcasts, while Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge hosted the other.

Michaels spoke before the season about the games he has to play on Thursday nights this season, emphasizing that he “can provide a great story for every game.”