Eagles S Malcolm Jenkins believes the NFL's new $100M pledge toward concussion safety "is a positive development," but he still "has some doubts about the league's intentions" following the announcement of the initiative earlier this week, according to Aaron Kasinitz of PENNLIVE.com. Jenkins, who serves as the team's player rep, said, "My reaction was I thought they already did that. And I'm not sure where it's going. Or as a player, where do you see the fruits of it?" He noted that the NFLPA "has no power to ensure the $100 million goes to the right places, because the initiative 'has nothing to do with'" the current CBA. Jenkins said that he does not expect the announcement "to immediately change the way members of the NFLPA feel about the league's handling of concussion-related issues or impact pending lawsuits against the league." Jenkins: "There's obviously a lot of skepticism about what the league is doing, especially for player safety. And I think the reason for that is it's always very vague and they don't give much information. They say we got this, and we're doing X, Y and Z, but then we don't see the fruits of it. So we'll see" (PENNLIVE.com, 9/15).
SKEPTICISM STILL ABOUNDS: Reaction to the league's latest concussion initiative ran the gamut on afternoon NFL shows. ESPN's Israel Gutierrez said he would be "skeptical about transparency and the motivation here." Gutierrez: "You give a certain percentage of that for research and equipment and a lower percentage of research to the actual brain. ... What do they really want to find out? ... Do they really want to know there is no other way to avoid getting CTE. other than not playing football?" ESPN's Kate Fagan said, "If it is just going to be 100 million, all of it should be going into figuring out what the issue is" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 9/14). ESPN's Bomani Jones said, "You don't want to knock anybody for giving $100 million toward research and technology that ostensibly will make players safer." But he added, "The question that always has to be asked: is the research that the NFL is subsidizing going beyond their agenda? ... Is it safety first or safety with boundaries?" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 9/14). ESPN's Michael Smith finds it "hard to give" the NFL any benefit of the doubt. Smith: "But let's see -- $100 million, it sounds good. It's a long way from the corruption and the lies when they said there was no connection between head trauma and football" ("His & Hers," ESPN2, 9/14). ESPN's Mike Greenberg said the league putting money into the cause "doesn't strike me as something that anyone should be surprised by." Greenberg: "It should sort of just go with the territory" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 9/15).
CAN FOOTBALL BECOME SAFER? ESPN's Michael Wilbon said, "I believe the NFL wants to be on the right side of safety. I don't believe they can do it. I don't believe they can throw enough money out there to achieve it, because football by nature is dangerous and risky." ESPN's Tony Kornheiser: "We both believe the NFL would like to have safety. The character of football is fully developed muscular athletes throwing themselves at other fully developed muscular athletes to knock them down." He added he does not know if there can ever be a "fully safe NFL" ("PTI," ESPN, 9/14). ESPN's Jones said, "They're trying to tackle an unfixable problem. You're in a place where the sport is so violent that it's exceeded the limits of the human body and brain" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 9/14). The N.Y. Daily News' Mike Lupica said, "It’s always going to be a violent sport. They can spend $300 million or $500 million, there’s always going to be an element of risk. I wonder at some point if NFL players are going to have to sign a waiver saying, ‘We understand the risks of playing this sport for a long time,’ that will protect the league from being sued from now until the end of time” ("Today," NBC, 9/15).
REPAIRING ROGER'S REP: SI.com's Greg Bedard wrote the "#RemakeRoger campaign is in full swing" at the NFL following the announcement of the "Play Smart. Play Safe" initiative. There is "no doubt that part of the effort is what it claims: a campaign to improve player safety as all levels of football." However, there also is "another side to this campaign as well" -- the restoration of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's reputation and "rebuilding what will be his legacy." He remains "extremely unpopular," among football fans, and his standing "is not going to change much among core NFL fans ... and players." His reputation "can be improved among casual fans, and those are the most important to the bottom line." Fans that love the NFL "are never going to go away, no matter what they say, and it’s people outside that circle that push ratings to new heights and purchase merchandise and other products that push the coffers for the owners." Bedard: "That’s where Team Goodell -- which includes league public relations wonks Joe Lockhart, Greg Aiello, Brian McCarthy and some outside consultants -- is aiming to #RemakeRoger." That includes keeping Goodell "out of the public eye," remaking him as the "player-safety commissioner" and strategically picking news outlets like the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and NBC's "Today" for him to deliver his message (SI.com, 9/14).
