The NFL Tried to Cover Up Brain Injuries
The association between head injuries and football players is now generally acknowledged. One study discovered brain damage in up to 40% of former athletes. Each season, 140 concussions occur. This appears to be a major thing, and it is, but the NFL made a concerted effort to keep the public in the dark about it for many years.
After conducting an autopsy on a player, the doctor who made the initial connection between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy was attacked by the league and his work was criticized as being subpar science. They willfully ignored the risk to their own players while publishing their own research with faulty data, downplaying the seriousness of injuries. The league had left out information on 100 concussions from its records, according to The New York Times.
The league gave millions to the National Institutes of Health's brain research to save face when they failed to make the material disappear, but they were soon charged with attempting to sway the study. As a result, a $16 million donation was turned down by the NIH. They then added millions more to research for medical and equipment. However, a 2017 study of 111 deceased NFL players' autopsy found 110 of them had chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
- Year: 2009
- Damage: Brain damage happens in 40% of former athletes
