According to a New York Times report, the NFL’s comprehensive and conclusive study of concussions from 1996-2001 is deeply flawed. For years, players believe the league has lied about the impact of concussions but all we ever heard from the NFL was denial and their insistence on the validity of the study.
In confidential data obtained by The Times, more than 100 concussions were omitted from the study, including concussions suffered by Hall of Famers Troy Aikman and Steve Young. The omission of these concussions obviously skewed the data and made the frequency of head trauma appear less than what actually occurs. In their research the Times uncovered that teams were not reporting all concussions.
The Times found that most teams failed to report all of their players’ concussions. Overall, at least 10 percent of head injuries diagnosed by team doctors were missing from the study, including two sustained by Jets receiver Wayne Chrebet, who retired several years later after more concussions. Dr. Pellman, the Jets’ physician, led the research and was the lead author on every paper.
We know the league has not been completely forthright and honest as it relates to concussions and the severity. It seems like every day a new report or study comes out and forces the league to be on the defensive. What is really interesting, according to The Times, Robert Tisch, co-owner of the Giants from 1991 until his death in 2005, was also a part owner of the cigarette company Lorillard and on the board of the Tobacco Institute and the Council for Tobacco Research. Tisch connected Arthur J. Stevens, a lawyer and leading voice in the tobacco industry, and then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
If you have something you need to spin or present in a favorable manner, there is no industry better to seek advice from than big tobacco.