In N.F.L., Deeply Flawed Concussion Research and Ties to Big Tobacco

[Eugene]

Source: New York Times

In N.F.L., Deeply Flawed Concussion Research and Ties to Big Tobacco

By ALAN SCHWARZ, WALT BOGDANICH and JACQUELINE WILLIAMS MARCH 24, 2016

The National Football League was on the clock.

With several of its marquee players retiring early after a cascade of frightening concussions, the league formed a committee in 1994 that would ultimately issue a succession of research papers playing down the danger of head injuries. Amid criticism of the committee’s work, physicians brought in later to continue the research said the papers had relied on faulty analysis.

Now, an investigation by The New York Times has found that the N.F.L.’s concussion research was far more flawed than previously known.

For the last 13 years, the N.F.L. has stood by the research, which, the papers stated, was based on a full accounting of all concussions diagnosed by team physicians from 1996 through 2001. But confidential data obtained by The Times shows that more than 100 diagnosed concussions were omitted from the studies — including some severe injuries to stars like quarterbacks Steve Young and Troy Aikman. The committee then calculated the rates of concussions using the incomplete data, making them appear less frequent than they actually were.

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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/25/sports/football/nfl-concussion-research-tobacco.html?_r=1

[KamaAina]

1. It gets worse.

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_29676270/nfl-funds-campaigns-lawmakers-reviewing-concussions

The NFL's political action committee has given nearly $300,000 in campaign contributions to 41 of 54 members of a key congressional committee that is reviewing concussion research, according to figures compiled by a Berkeley-based group.

The nonprofit MapLight told this newspaper Wednesday that its analysis of campaign finance data since 2008 has found the NFL's Gridiron PAC has supported members of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee that began informal hearings last week on one of the league's most pressing safety issues....

MapLight reported that since 2008, 17 percent of the Gridiron PAC's campaign contributions -- $292,000 -- were given to energy and commerce committee members.

The PAC gave $25,000 to Upton and $8,500 to Democrat Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the committee's highest-ranking member. It also contributed $1,500 to Pennsylvania Republican Tim Murphy, who heads the oversight and investigations subcommittee.