New data from the nation’s largest brain bank focused on traumatic brain injury has "found evidence of a degenerative brain disease" in 76 of the 79 former NFLers it has examined, according to Jason Breslow of PBS/FRONTLINE. The findings "represent a more than twofold increase in the number of cases" of CTE that have been reported "by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ brain repository in Bedford, Mass." Researchers there have "now examined the brain tissue of 128 football players who, before their deaths, played the game professionally, semi-professionally, in college or in high school." Of that sample, 101 players, or just under 80%, "tested positive for CTE." The new data from the VA/BU repository -- once the “'preferred' brain bank of the NFL -- comes as thousands of NFL retirees and their beneficiaries approach an Oct. 14 deadline to decide whether to opt out of a proposed settlement in the class-action concussion case brought against the league by more than 4,500 former players." The research "helps address what had been a key sticking point in negotiations -- the issue of prevalence." Under the "proposed settlement, the survivors of players found to have died with CTE can qualify for a payment" as high as $4M. But some, including the family of late NFLer Junior Seau, have "announced plans to opt out of the settlement." Others have "challenged the settlement’s award structure for CTE specifically, claiming it only allows for such payments if a player was diagnosed with the disease before the day that the agreement won preliminary approval in July" (PBS.org, 9/30).
CRISIS MODE: In Toronto, Bruce Arthur notes the NFL has "quietly admitted in court documents that it expects three in 10 players will develop long-term cognitive problems at notably younger ages than the general population." That, "more than anything else, is the crisis in football, and it has been building for decades." If the NFL "truly cared about domestic violence, it would be at the forefront of determining whether CTE is linked to violent behaviour, rather than donating some money here and there." Arthur: "If it cared, it wouldn’t cut CTE out of the concussion deal. If it cared, it would want to know what the game really does to its players, and what that means" (TORONTO STAR, 10/1).
IS SETTLEMENT FLAWED? In N.Y., Belson & Shpigel report the Brain Injury Association of America claims the proposed settlement between the NFL and the former players "is flawed because the definitions of eligibility are too narrow." In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, two doctors from the association said that the tests retired players would take to determine whether they could receive a cash award "primarily identify problems of cognition, like memory loss and ability to organize thoughts, not other conditions associated with brain trauma like mood swings and aggressive behavior." The doctors said that the proposed settlement "will exclude many players and limit their access to medical benefits and compensation." Belson & Shpigel note the settlement "would include smaller payments to players with fewer than five years in the NFL on the presumption that they absorbed fewer hits to the head." Older players would "receive smaller awards than younger players because they are thought to be more likely to develop conditions like Alzheimer’s disease because of their age, not because they played football." The doctors said that both assumptions "were incorrect." A player "could get a major concussion or a series of smaller concussions in his first year in the league" (
N.Y. TIMES, 10/1).
