Voices
MICHAEL V. KAPLEN
AND SHANA DE CARO
HUFFINGTON
10.20.13
AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES
Players and Public Lose in
the NFL’s Concussion Crisis
IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT documentary League of Denial: The
NFL’s Concussion Crisis, we felt
it was important to revisit the
statements NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell made the other
week to Fox Sports broadcaster
John Lynch concerning the proposed settlement of the players’
class action lawsuit. Those statements and the NFL’s longstanding
unequivocal rejection of any relationship between concussions and
brain trauma are an outrage and
disrespectful to all those players
whose lives have been devastated.
Goddell’s disingenuous portrayal of the league’s concern about
the health and safety of the players is incredible at best. His assertion that the league has been
forthcoming with medical information as it has become avail-
able, defies credulity. Goodell’s
unbelievable contention that the
league has acted in good faith and
has not misled the players flies in
the face of reality.
Over the years, the NFL has
staunchly refused to acknowledge the accumulating body of
impartial, documented, medi-
Goodell
speaks during
the first round
of the 2013
NFL Draft in
New York City
in April.