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Tua's Charitable Plans ... And The Number Issue Comes Up Again

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa announced plans to give back to the communities important to him, while the topic of his jersey number gets revived
Alain Poupart|
Tua's Charitable Plans ... And The Number Issue Comes Up Again
Tua's Charitable Plans ... And The Number Issue Comes Up Again

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa officially signed his rookie contract with the Miami Dolphins earlier this week, after which he announced on Twitter plans to give back to those communities that have supported and will support him in the future.

That means his native Hawaii, the University of Alabama and South Florida.

Tagovailoa's agent, Leigh Steinberg, later tweeted that Tagovailoa would be giving back to the University of Alabama and its football program.

What the exact charitable plans entail will be revealed at a later date.

Tagovailoa's signing was to next-to-last to be made official. It preceded the official signing of third-round pick Brandon Jones, the safety from Texas.

That leaves the Dolphins with four draft picks left to sign — first-round selections Austin Jackson and Noah Igbinoghene, second-round pick Robert Hunt, and seventh-round pick Malcolm Perry.

Also this week, NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley chimed in on the whole Tua jersey number during an appearance on the Dan Le Batard radio show on ESPN.

After answering a basketball question, Barkley told Le Batard he should call Dan Marino to tell him to let Tagovailo wear number 13, the number he wore at Alabama but that has been retired by the Dolphins in honor of Marino.

Barkley's rationale is that it's the name that's retired, not the number.

So, this again. If one is to buy Barkley's logic, that means every number in every spot needs to be unretired and have only names up on the walls or hanging from the rafters of stadiums and arenas.

The retiring of a jersey number is meant to honor and preserve the legacy of the player who wore that number. And as far as the Dolphins are concerned, if Marino's number isn't going to stay retired, then no Dolphins jersey number should ever be retired.

It's truly amazing how this has remained a topic of conversation when Tua himself completely downplayed it right after being drafted by the Dolphins when he said he'd be fine with "78 or 99 — I’ll wear it. It doesn’t matter."

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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