Given the context in which Whaley was speaking, what he said wasn't entirely accurate. It's true that the human body endures weekly trauma in the NFL that most of us don't experience. However, the vast majority of players exit games injury-free. What Whaley should've said was that Sammy Watkins's body wasn't meant to play football.
Putting the legalities of his statement aside, because they are unclear, Whaley statement is undoubtedly injurious (no pun intended) to the NFL's reputation and future. Imagine if you're a kid and an NFL GM comes out and says the human body shouldn't be playing football? Couple that with the number of high profile players walking away prematurely, Goodell had to have Whaley on the phone after that statement.