NFL and Concussions

The Role of the NFL in this Discourse

Madison, Davis, Sean, Eric

League of Denial
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/leag

ue-of-denial/

I make
millions
of dollars
because
of
football!

I Signed
up for
this!

Need
more
protecti
on

CTE is
killing!!

If you
cant play
through
the pain,
then dont
play

Paul Tagliabues Initial Reaction to

Concussions

We discuss it
on the list of
things every
time we have a
league meeting
We think the
issue of knees,
of drugs and
steroids and
drinking is a far
greater problem,
according to the
number of
incidents.
-Dr. Pellman

Negative Constraints
After seventeen seasons in the NFL, Webster had lost any

semblance of control in his once-invincible body. He

suffered from profound dementia, the result of
deterioration in his brain resulting from the thousands of
hits and an unknown number of concussions that he suffers
during his career. Websters days were filled with pain from
his numerous football injuries. He often slept only a few
hours each night, usually sitting up in a chair because the
ache was too great to lie down. By that time he was taking
Vicodin regularly and at different times, Darvocet, Ultram,
and Locret. He also had a regular prescription for Ritilan
and used Paxil and Prozac to dull his demons. Sometimes,
the only thing that brought him relief was a black taser
gun. He would as (his ex-wife) Sunny or his son Garrett to
stun him into unconsciousness, usually in the thigh but
sometimes in the back and neck. When no one was there,
which was often, he would try to do it himself

Troy Aikman

"I had no idea what I was doing . . . I guess I must

have gotten the signal from the sidelines and put
in the play, but I don't know how," Aikman said.
"We do that play so much, maybe I can run it in
my sleep."
"Most of the time he remembered that he
played for the Cowboys," Steinberg said.
"But in the beginning, he thought he was
still playing for Henryetta High in
Oklahoma."

"He asked who he just played, and if they

won, and how come there wasn't a bye week
before the Super Bowl," he said. "He had no
idea they were playing in the Super Bowl, and
no idea it was against the Bills."

"I remember the

pregame
introductions, I
remember
throwing one
ball deep to
Alvin Harper, but
I remember
nothing else,"
Aikman said.

NFL Spokesman
Its quite obvious from the medical research

thats been done that concussions can lead to

long term problems
-December 2009

Where are the owners?

The NFLannounces its funded Heads up Football,

a new USA Football initiative to promote safety
and concussion awareness in youth football.

The NFL produces a poster to be hung in locker

rooms warning that concussions may lead to
problems with memory and communication,
personality changes, as well as depression and
the early onset of dementia. Concussions and
conditions resulting from repeated brain injury
can change your life and your familys life
forever.

Positive Constraints
This years revenues for the national football league will be
somewhere just north of 9 billion which means the league
remains the most lucrative league in the world
I want to reach 25 billion in annual revenue for the league by
the year 2027 Roger Goodell
In 2011 the NFL signed rights deals with NBC, CBS, Fox, and
ESPN that amount to $42 billion of revenue over the course of
the pacts
NFL signed a $1 Billion deal with DirectTV

Exigence: NFL
Fundamental Issues Presented
By any standard, the NFL has made
Player safety
profound commitment to the health and
Money vs. health
safety of its players that can be seen in
Are they doing enough?
every aspect of the game, and the
Best interest for players? results have been both meaningful and
measureable
-Jeff Miller, Senior vice president of
The NFL for more
health and safety policy

than two decades

has been a leader
in addressing the
issue of head
injuries in a
serious way
-Jeff Miller

We are dedicated to making football

safer and continue to take steps to
protect players, including rule changes,
advanced sideline technology, and
expanded medical resources.
"We continue to make significant
investments in independent research
through our gifts to Boston University,
the [National Institutes of Health] and
other efforts to accelerate the science
and understanding of these issues. -NFL

Values at Stake

Covering up information for ratings

fueling an empire more important than players safety

Corrupt, materialistic values

"I wish I
never met
Mike
Webster.
You can't
go against
the NFL.
They'll
squash
you.
-Dr.
Omalu

Dr. Omalu eventually meets with an NFL

doctor in private who tells him the
implications of his reports could result in
the end of football. During this time, the
league denies any connection to brain
injuries from playing football and publishes
its own papers dispting Omalu's claims
saying the sport is safe.
I know fans think,
Hey,
players know what the risks are, and
-League
of Denial
thats true. But the lawsuit isnt that no one knew there were
health risks, but that the league knew there were long-term
consequences from head injury, Aikman said.
There was information that the Steelers medical staff knew
that the doctors in Dallas didnt know. Medical information was
certainly not being shared. From what I gather, the league was
repressing information.

"You see guys

with their eyes
rolling in the
back of their
heads, You see
guys shaking
their head trying
Thirty of 160 NFL players surveyed
to get it together.
by The Associated Press from Nov. 2If there was a
15 replied that they have hidden or
doctor evaluating
played down the effects of a
them, I'm sure
concussion
they would say,
-Associated Press
'Your brain has
taken trauma.'
-Kansas City Chiefs
Wide receiver
Bobby Wade
It is common to hear of players trying to hide or down play
a head injury for many reasons, not wanting to let your
team down, you dont want to lose your spot or contracts,
but also some try to avoid weakness in general especially
in a sport where being the strongest and toughest makes
you one of the best
-Greg Paulus

Contradictory