The NFL appears to be stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to player health and safety.
Reporting recently unsealed depositions related to the league settlement of concussion lawsuitFront Office Sports said the NFL “is in the position of trying to overcome the causality issue” while not wanting to “admit that playing football could lead to permanent cognitive problems.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has questioned the link between concussions suffered while playing the sport and long-term brain damage.
“I think there is still a lot of uncertainty on the issue of causation,” he said during his nine-hour deposition on July 13, 2022, which was released on Saturday. “We all know there are risks in playing football and other sports. There are risks to walking in the street.
One of the insurance companies suing to avoid covering the cost of the 2016 settlement — thousands of former players received $1.3 billion in damages — claims the NFL would not have not have to settle because, they claim, there is no scientific evidence of a causal link between concussions and brain injuries, according to FOS.
Although causality has not been scientifically proven, it is generally accepted that Single or repeated mild head injuries (such as concussions) can cause short-term effects that increase the risk of long-term neurodegenerative diseases such as CTE or Alzheimer’s disease.
The league even recognized the increase in concussions within sport.
“The league’s position remains unchanged. Player health and safety is a top priority of the NFL, as the Commissioner testified and has long stated,” the league said in a statement to FOS. “The NFL has made and continues to make great strides in trying to make the game safer for its players, including changing the rules, improving equipment and making donations and supporting crucial scientific and medical research. “
Goodell was also asked about former players who died by suicide and asked that their brains be studied.
“I think that actors who want to participate in the research necessary to advance science are a positive thing for us,” said the commissioner. “Obviously the circumstances are incredibly unfortunate.
“When you have research and brains can be studied…I hope something good comes out of it and in the discovery. This is how science advances. Obviously, as I said, the unfortunate circumstances in which a person commits suicide is horrific in itself. But there are probably many factors that come into play.”
Goodell also took umbrage with media coverage of the head injuries.
“They misrepresent things, they misrepresent things, and when they do that, they add to a narrative that I consider unfair and unfounded,” he said.