NFL Sends Mixed Message on Concussions

As stories mount of ex-NFL players who are physically and mentally incapacitated in what ought to be the prime of their lives, the National Football League has promised to clean up its act. They're spending more on medical care for retirees, discouraging teams from sending concussed players onto the field and funding research into the links between concussions and neurodegenerative diseases.

But handed one of the most comprehensive such studies to date, the league has opted to disregard it.

A study of more than 2,500 retired NFL players found that those who had at least three concussions during their careers had triple the risk of clinical depression as those who had no concussions. [...]

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said: "We think it's interesting. But it does not prove anything. And we want to know more. And that's why we are spending close to $2 million on a study of concussions on our retired players."

True, the study doesn't "prove" anything. But with so many ex-players in need of help, and so many current players risking their future health, now isn't the time for the league to pull a circle-the-wagons routine.

Related Wired coverage here.

NFL Study Links Concussions, Depression [Associated Press]

Image: Paul Collins*