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Leagues and Governing Bodies

Goodell Sends Letter To Owners Reaffirming League's Commitment To Concussion Research

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a letter sent to the 32 team owners on Thursday "reaffirmed the league's commitment to concussion research," according to Barry Wilner of the AP. Goodell called for "continued and robust support of independent medical research" in the wake of a Congressional study released this week. Goodell told the owners the league "never considered not honoring" a $30M commitment to the National Institutes of Health "in its entirety." He also stressed that the league "will provide substantial additional funding for projects relating to safety equipment, treatment of athletes who have experienced concussions, and a study relating to the incidence and prevalence of long-term health consequences" (AP, 5/26). In N.Y., Christian Red writes this "seems to be a damage control response" to the congressional report. Goodell's letter reads in part, "I want to reaffirm in the strongest possible terms my comments to you during the league meeting and my public statements this week reaffirming the NFL's commitment to the NIH of the $30 million in grant funding we pledged to accelerate scientific understanding of concussion and head injury. There was no consideration given to anything other than honoring that commitment in its entirety." Goodell in the letter wrote that $12M "has been allocated for the NIH" in two $6M agreements "dedicated to studies that define the long-term changes that occur in the brain after a head injury or multiple concussions" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/27).

SHOW OF SUPPORT: Cowboys COO, Exec VP & Dir of Player Personnel Stephen Jones said that the report "is not accurate and unfounded." Jones: "The league is obviously going to do their job in terms of showing that it was inaccurate. ... We’ve been doing this for 10 years trying to make the game safer for our players in terms of when they go out on the field, there’s certainly at the end of the day they’re at the center of the game, which is what makes our league is the game. And we have to protect our players. We have to continue to work to make the game better so that it’s a safer game. And we’ll continue to do that" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 5/27).

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