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FRONTLINE > Sports > League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis > Timeline: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis
October 8, 2013, 9:57 pm ET by Lauren Ezell
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What did the NFL know and when did it know it? To help answer that question we’ve created a dual chronology, with growing scientific concern about the link between football and brain disease on the left-hand column, and the NFL’s public statements on the right. Click on a year to learn more.
1994 1995 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
1994
1994
NFL CREATES MTBI COMMITTEE
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue creates the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee, and appoints New York Jets team doctor and rheumatologist Dr. Elliot Pellman as chair, despite lacking any previous experience in brain science. When asked about the issue of concussions in 1994, Pellman tells Newsday: “‘We discuss it on the list of things every time we have a league meeting … We think the issue of knees, of drugs and steroids and drinking is a far greater problem, according to the number of incidents.” Pellman also tells Sports Illustrated that “concussions are part of the profession, an occupational risk.”
January 1994
TROY AIKMAN’S CONCUSSION
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman takes a knee to the head during the 1993 season NFC Championship game, landing him in the hospital that night. Aikman later tells the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he can’t remember the game: “I didn’t know what planet I was on. I still to this day have no recollection of ever having played in that game. So whenever I see footage of that game, it’s like somebody else is out there doing it.” Aikman’s agent, Leigh Steinberg, visited him in the hospital that night and recalled the story to FRONTLINE.
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October 1994
MERRILL HOGE RETIRES DUE TO CONCUSSIONS
Citing the dangers of returning to football after sustaining several concussions, Chicago Bears fullback Merrill Hoge announces his retirement from the NFL. Two weeks earlier, he had taken a knee to the head, leaving him briefly unable to recognize his wife or brother. Hoge tells Sports News: “This is messing with your brain.”
December 1994
COMMISSIONER TAGLIABUE DISMISSES THE CONCUSSION PROBLEM
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue describes concussions as a “pack journalism issue” during a panel on the future of sports: “On concussions, I think is one of these pack journalism issues, frankly… There is no increase in concussions, the number is relatively small… The problem is a journalist issue. “
1995
February 1995
LEIGH STEINBERG SOUNDS A WARNING
With growing concern for the health of his clients, Leigh Steinberg, agent to star quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Steve Young, holds a seminar on the effects of concussions in Newport Beach, Calif. Players listen to a panel of medical experts describe the symptoms and dangers of concussions. San Diego Charger Gary Plummer tells The Press Enterprise: “By their standards, I must’ve had 200 concussions.”
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1997
March 1997
NEW RETURN-TO-PLAY GUIDELINES
The guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology say that repetitive concussions can cause brain damage, and suggest that players be removed from the game if they lose consciousness or exhibit any concussion symptoms 15 minutes post-injury. “Repeated concussions can cause cumulative brain injury in an individual over months or years,” the report warns.
1999
April 1999
MIKE WEBSTER CLAIMS FOOTBALL GAVE HIM DEMENTIA
After years of struggling with cognitive problems, Mike Webster files a disability application with the NFL Retirement Board, claiming his NFL football career caused him to have dementia.
September 1999
STEVE YOUNG KNOCKED OUT COLD
49ers quarterback Steve Young is knocked out for 30 seconds during a game against the Arizona Cardinals. It would be Young’s last NFL game.
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NFL RETIREMENT BOARD RULES MIKE WEBSTER PERMANENTLY DISABLED
The NFL Retirement Board rules that Mike Webster’s head injuries from his years playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs left him “totally and permanently” disabled as “the result of head injuries he suffered as a football player.” The ruling isn’t made public until it’s uncovered by FRONTLINE/ESPN reporters Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru- Wada. Webster’s attorney, Bob Fitzsimmons, says the ruling shows that the league should’ve known there was a link between football and brain damage. “It’s pretty devastating evidence,” he said. “If the NFL takes the position that they didn’t know or weren’t armed with evidence that concussions can cause total disability — permanent disability, permanent brain injury — in 1999, that evidence trumps anything they say.”
December 1999
MTBI CHAIR SAYS SERIOUS BRAIN INJURIES ARE A RARITY IN THE NFL
Dr. Pellman tells The Chicago Tribune that the MTBI committee’s studies have found that brain injuries in football are relatively uncommon and minor. The paper reports: “After four years of keeping close track of head injuries, Pellman claims the numbers have remained ‘remarkably the same’ throughout the league. He said there are about 180 ‘incidents’ per year of mild traumatic brain injury. ‘We’re talking the majority are minor injuries,’ Pellman said.”
2000
May 2000 May 2000
RESEARCH SUGGESTS MTBI MEMBERS QUESTION RETURN CONCUSSIONS MAY LEAD TO TO PLAY GUIDELINES NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS The New York Times reports that MTBI committee members, along with many NFL doctors, are criticizing the American While cautioning that their study was based solely on surveys, Academy of Neurology’s 1997 return-to-play guidelines, citing a Dr. Barry Jordan and Dr. Julian Bailes present startling results at lack of research to support them. an annual meeting for the American Academy of Neurology. Science Daily summarized their findings: “We don’t know whether being knocked out briefly is any more dangerous than having amnesia and not being knocked out,” “When compared to players who did not report any committee member and neurologist Dr. Mark R. Lovell tells the concussions, the group with one or more concussions reported Times. ”We see people all the time that get knocked out briefly significantly more neurological symptoms. These included and have no symptoms,” he added. ”Others get elbowed, go problems with memory and concentration, confusion, speech back to the bench and say, ‘Where am I?’” or hearing difficulties, numbness or tingling in extremities, and headaches.”
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September 2000
DALLAS OWNER SAYS AIKMAN SHOULD IGNORE CONCUSSION CONCERNS
Dallas Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones tells ESPN that he’d push Aikman to ignore concussion concerns if it was a key game “since all data that we have so far don’t point to lasting effects, long-term effects from the head trauma.”
2001
April 2001
TROY AIKMAN RETIRES
Quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys Troy Aikman announces his retirement, citing his concussions and back problems.
2002
2002
DR. BENNET OMALU EXAMINES MIKE WEBSTER’S BRAIN
Because Webster was suffering from mental problems, Allegheny County medical examiner Dr. Bennet Omalu decides to take a closer look at Webster’s brain, eventually discovering the first evidence of a brain disease that had never been previously identified in football players, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE.
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2003
November 2003 November 2003
RESEARCHERS WARN ON MTBI CHAIR SENDS KNOCKED-OUT CONCUSSIONS PLAYER BACK INTO GAME
Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz, a sports medicine researcher at the According to a report by ESPN, New York Jets receiver Wayne University of North Carolina, publishes a paper suggesting that Chrebet gets knocked out cold during a game against the New repeat concussions may lead to slower recovery of neurological York Giants. Dr. Elliot Pellman, the Jets’ team doctor, who is also functioning: head of the NFL’s Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee, examines him, and sends him back into the game. “Our study suggests that players with a history of previous concussions are more likely to have future concussive injuries than those with no history; 1 in 15 players with a concussion may have additional concussions in the same playing season; and previous concussions may be associated with slower recovery of neurological function.”
October 2003
NFL BEGINS PUBLISHING RESEARCH IN SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL
The first of 16 scientific papers by the MTBI Committee, is published in the journal Neurosurgery along with a guest editorial by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Tagliabue writes: “We salute our Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee for its leadership and the individuals involved in this project who put in so many hours of work. We are confident that this important new information will continue to advance the cause of improving the safety of profession and amateur athletes on all levels.”
2004
January 2004
MTBI COMMITTEE SAYS MOST CONCUSSED PLAYERS RECOVER QUICKLY
The MTBI committee publishes a paper in Neurosurgery emphasizing that the NFL’s concussion problem is relatively small: “A total of 92% of concussed players returned to practice in less than seven days … More than one-half of the players returned to play within one day, and symptoms resolved in a short time in the vast majority of cases.”
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JUSTIN STRZELCZYK DIES
After complaining of depression and behaving erratically, former Pittsburgh Steeler Justin Strzelczyk dies in a fiery car crash at age 36. Dr. Omalu later examines Strzelczyk’s brain and finds CTE.
October 2004
MTBI DISPUTES RESEARCH ON EFFECTS OF REPEAT CONCUSSIONS
The MTBI committee publishes a paper in Neurosurgery disputing Guskiewicz’s findings. According to the committee: “They [Guskiewicz et. al.] concluded that there may be an increased risk of repeat concussive injuries and there may be a slower recovery of neurological function after repeat concussions in those have a history of previous concussions. The results of this present NFL study do not support those conclusions.” The committee also notes that although brain disease from heads hits is seen in other athletes, such as boxers, there’s no sign of such disease in pro football players.
November 2004
MTBI SAYS NFL PLAYERS ARE LESS SUSCEPTIBLE TO BRAIN INJURY
The MTBI committee’s fifth paper in Neurosurgery stirs controversy. It suggests that NFL players have evolved to a state where their brains are less susceptible to injury: “One of the other processes that may account for some of
these differences between NFL players and the general population might be deemed to be a type of artificial selection. Most NFL players have been involved with organized football since junior or senior high school and on through college. It is well known that MTBIs occur at all these levels of the sport. For whatever reasons, certain individuals undoubtedly are more prone to MTBI than others. Some individuals are more prone to delayed or poor recovery after MTBI. These groups may overlap. It is likely that many of these individuals will stop playing organized football before reaching the professional level. They are ‘selected out’ either of their own volition or because their head injuries prevent them from continuing to participate in http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/timeline-the-nfls-concussion-crisis/ 7/38 4/4/2014 Timeline: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis | League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis | FRONTLINE | PBS head injuries prevent them from continuing to participate in the sport. As a result of this winnowing process, those players who ultimately play in the NFL are probably less susceptible to MTBI and prolonged post-concussion syndrome than the general population.”
2005
January 2005
MTBI SUGGESTS RETURN TO PLAY DOESN’T INCREASE INJURY RISK
The MTBI committee publishes another paper in Neurosurgery, concluding that: “Players who are concussed and return to the same game have fewer initial signs and symptoms than those removed from play. Return to play does not involve a significant risk of a second injury either in the same game or during the season.” The committee goes on to argue that its findings might apply to younger athletes. “Under the right circumstances, specifically with regard to final decision making on return to play being solely at the clinical discretion of a knowledgeable team physician, it might be safe for college/high school football players to be cleared to return to play on the same day as their injury. The authors suggest that, rather than blindly adhering to arbitrary, rigid guidelines, physicians keep an open mind to the possibility that the present analysis of professional football players may have relevance to college and high school players.”
June 2005
TERRY LONG COMMITS SUICIDE
Forty-five year-old former Steeler Terry Long commits suicide by drinking antifreeze. Dr. Omalu later examines his brain, finds CTE.
July 2005
OMALU PUBLISHES HIS CTE FINDINGS
Dr. Bennet Omalu publishes his findings of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in Mike Webster’s brain in the journal Neurosurgery.
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STUDY TIES CONCUSSIONS & DEMENTIA
Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz and Dr. Julian Bailes publish a study in Neurosurgery concluding “that the onset of dementia-related syndromes may be initiated by repetitive cerebral concussions in professional football players.”
2006
January 2006 MTBI MEMBER SAYS OMALU USES “FALLACIOUS REASONING”
Steelers team doctor and future member of the MTBI Committee, Dr. Joseph Maroon, tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Omalu’s conclusion that Terry Long’s suicide may have been the result of depression caused by head injuries during his career in football was “fallacious reasoning.” “To go back and say that he was depressed from playing in the NFL and that led to his death 14 years later, I think is purely speculative,” Maroon told the paper. He added:”He could have had a head injury that wasn’t reported before football. He could have had a fight, he could have had a head injury … And that’s why I’m saying it’s so speculative.”
May 2006
MTBI MEMBERS CALL FOR RETRACTION
Dr. Elliot Pellman, along with MTBI committee members Dr. Ira Casson and Dr. David Viano, request that Neurosurgery retrace Omalu’s CTE paper. “Omalu et al’s description of chronic traumatic encephalopathy is completely wrong,” they write. “The diagnosis of a chronic condition requires a medical history indicating a long-standing nature of the illness … Such a history is completely lacking in Omalu et al.s’ report.”
November 2006
OMALU PUBLISHES SECOND CTE PAPER
Dr. Omalu publishes his second paper after finding the disease in the brain of former Steelers player Terry Long. As with Mike Webster, he links Long’s NFL career to his brain damage: “Our first and second cases both had long careers without multiple recorded concussions. Both manifested Major Depressive Disorder after retirement.”
November 2006
ANDRE WATERS COMMITS SUICIDE
Former Philadelphia Eagles player Andre Waters commits suicide at the age of 44. Dr. Omalu later examines his brain and finds CTE. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/timeline-the-nfls-concussion-crisis/ 9/38 4/4/2014 Timeline: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis | League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis | FRONTLINE | PBS
2007
February 2007 February 2007
PATRIOTS PLAYER’S STORY RAISES GOODELL VOICES CONCERN OVER QUESTIONS ABOUT RETURN TO PLAY RETURN TO PLAY
Former New England Patriots player Ted Johnson tells The New The league’s new commissioner, Roger Goodell, discusses the York Times that in the wake of his retirement, he suffers from Ted Johnson story during his annual “State of the League” memory loss, an addiction to amphetamines and agoraphobia. address, stating: “I don’t accept the premise that [returning He dates his problems to two concussions he suffered within a from concussions] was common practice, but it does concern week in August 2002 and says that Coach Bill Belichick sent him me.” back on the field for regular contact play four days later, against the advice of the team’s trainer. Belicheck later told The Boston Goodell also points to the MTBI committee as proof of the league’s commitment to concussion research and player safety. Globe that Johnson should have told him if he wasn’t able to practice. “If Ted felt so strongly that he didn’t feel he was ready to practice with us, he should have told me,” Belichick said.
February 27, 2007
PELLMAN RESIGNS
Dr. Pellman steps down from his position as head of the MTBI Committee and is replaced by two co-chairs: Dr. Ira Casson, a neurologist, and Dr. David Viano, the director of the Sports Biomechanics Lab at Wayne State University.
May 2007 May 2007
RESEARCH SHOWS CONCUSSED MTBI MEMBERS CRITICIZE NEW PLAYERS AT RISK FOR DEPRESSION DEPRESSION RESEARCH
Dr. Julian Bailes and Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz release a study on the Members of the MTBI committee criticize the paper by Bailes risk of depression in retired NFL players based on a survey of and Guskiewicz for relying on surveys. “Survey studies are the more than 2500 former players. The paper, published in the weakest type of research study — they’re subject to all kinds of Official Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, error and misinterpretation and miscalculation.” Committee concludes: chair Dr. Ira Casson told The New York Times. And Dr. Henry Feuer, MTBI committee member and a medical consultant for “… Professional football players with a history of three of more the Indianapolis Colts, told the Times that the study was concussions are at a significantly greater risk for having “virtually worthless.” depressive episodes later in life compared with those players with no history of concussion.” May 14, 2007
NEW MTBI CHAIR NICKNAMED “DR. NO”
During an interview on HBO Real Sports, Dr. Casson adamantly denies any evidence of a link between head injuries in NFL players and depression, dementia or any other long-term problem resulting in brain damage. The interview earns him the nickname “Dr. No.”
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June 2007
NFL HOSTS CONCUSSION SUMMIT
New NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell calls the first league- wide Concussion Summit; attendees include the NFL’s own doctors as well as outside scientists. A number of outside researchers, including Dr. Bailes and Dr. Guskiewicz, present their findings on the dangers of concussions. Dr. Bailes says his research was dismissed by MBTI committee members. During a press conference following the summit, Goodell touts the accomplishments of NFL doctors and champions the conference as an example of the league’s continued steps towards a better understanding of the science behind head injury. “And I think one thing that troubles me sometimes, when I see media reports, is that this is something that, all of a sudden, we’ve started to focus on,” says Goodell. “We’ve had this committee for 14 years. We have done terrific work. And our doctors, our scientists have been working at this diligently. So this is not something that’s come to us new. MBTI committee chair Dr. Ira Casson, meanwhile, tells reporters: “In my opinion, the only scientifically valid evidence of a chronic encephalopathy in athletes is in boxers and in some Steeplechase jockeys. It’s never been scientifically validly documented in any other athletes… Anecdotes do not make scientifically valid evidence. I am a man of science. I believe in empirically determined scientifically valid data. And that is not scientifically valid data.”
September 2007
NFL ISSUES CONCUSSION PAMPHLET
The pamphlet says that current research on the long-term impact of concussions is inconclusive: “Current research with professional athletes has not shown that having more than one or two concussions leads to permanent problems if each injury is managed properly. It is important to understand that there is no magic number for how many concussions is too many. Research is currently underway to determine if there are any long-term effects of concussions in NFL athletes.”
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2009
January 2009
SCIENTISTS CRASH THE SUPER BOWL
Dr. Ann McKee, Chris Nowinski and a team of scientists from the newly formed Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy hold a press conference in Tampa, where the world’s sports media is gathered for the Super Bowl. At the press conference, they announce several new cases of CTE, including in Tom McHale, who died of a drug overdose at age 45, as well as in the brain of an 18-year-old high school student who died 10 days after suffering his fourth concussion.
May 2009
MCKEE MEETS WITH MTBI COMMITTEE
Dr. McKee presents her findings to Dr. Ira Casson and members of the MTBI committee at NFL headquarters in New York. Dr. McKee says that the panel was dismissive of her and her research. “It was like, ‘Oh, the girl talked. Now we can get back to some serious business,’” she told FRONTLINE. Committee member Dr. Henry Feuer told FRONTLINE that Dr. McKee’s research did not indicate a specific cause for CTE and could not show the prevalence of the disease, given that her findings were based solely on case studies. “I just have a problem. Ann McKee, she cannot tell me where it’s starting. We don’t know the cause and effect. We don’t know that right now. We don’t know the incidence,” Feuer said. “She was seeing only those that were in trouble. And we know that there are thousands roaming around that are not having problems. So, I think, that’s where we may have had an issue.
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STUDY FINDS FORMER PLAYERS ARE NFL SAYS STUDY IS FLAWED 19 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO GET NFL spokesman Greg Aiello criticizes the NFL-funded study. As DEMENTIA The New York Times reports: “An N.F.L. spokesman, Greg Aiello, said in an e-mail message In a front-page article, The New York Times reports that an NFL- that the study did not formally diagnose dementia, that it was funded study of retired players has found that former players subject to shortcomings of telephone surveys and that ‘there are 19 times more likely than the general population to have are thousands of retired players who do not have memory dementia, Alzheimer’s or other memory-related diseases. problems … Memory disorders affect many people who never played football or other sports,’ Mr. Aiello said. ‘We are trying to understand it as it relates to our retired players.’”
October 2009 October 2009
ON CAPITOL HILL, THE OUTSIDE COMMISSIONER GOODELL INSISTS SCIENTISTS PRESENT THEIR CASE THE NFL IS STUDYING THE PROBLEM
Dr. Ann McKee and others present evidence of CTE in football Goodell is asked during his congressional testimony if there is a players during a Congressional hearing. Rep. Linda Sanchez (D- link between football and brain damage. He responds that he Calif.) tells Goodell that the league’s response to the problem isn’t best suited to answer the question, but that the NFL is reminds her of the tobacco industry’s handling of the link committed to continuing to research the problem and is between smoking and health problems in the 1990s. currently taking step to improve player safety. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) tells Goodell: “We have heard from the NFL time and time again. You are always studying, you are always trying, you are hopeful. I want to know, what are you doing now?”
November 2009
SHAKE UP ON THE MTBI COMMITTEE
Dr. Ira Casson and Dr. David Viano resign from the MTBI committee. In a memo obtained by the Associated Press following their resignation, Commissioner Goodell said that he wanted to find new members “who will bring to the committee independent sources of expertise and experience in the field of head injuries.” In March 2010, the league installs neurological surgeons Dr. H. Hunt Batjer and Dr. Richard G. Ellenbogen as co-chairs of the renamed “Head, Neck and Spine Committee” and appoints Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz as a member.
December 2009
NFL SPOKESMAN ACKNOWLEDGES CONCUSSIONS’ LONG-TERM EFFECTS
NFL Spokesman Greg Aiello tells Alan Schwarz from The New York Times that “it’s quite obvious from the medical research that’s been done that concussions can lead to long-term problems.” This is the very first time the league admits that concussions had long-term effects.
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December 2009
NEW RETURN-TO-PLAY GUIDELINES
The league announces stricter return-to-play guidelines, stating that any player that exhibits symptoms of a concussion should not return to play on the same day.
2010
January 2010
NFL MAKES BOSTON UNIVERSITY ITS “PREFERRED” BRAIN BANK
In addition to donating $1 million towards their research efforts, the NFL writes a letter stating they will make Dr. McKee’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy the “‘preferred’ brain bank of the NFL” for future research on the brains of deceased NFL players. Dr. McKee told FRONTLINE that she was surprised by the unexpected gift. “A CBS reporter wanted to know what I thought of the gift of a million dollars. That was the first I heard of it,” she said. “I was floored.”
July 2010
THE LEAGUE WARNS CONCUSSIONS “CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE” FOREVER
The NFL produces a poster to be hung in locker rooms warning that concussions “may lead to problems with memory and communication, personality changes, as well as depression and the early onset of dementia. Concussions and conditions resulting from repeated brain injury can change your life and your family’s life forever.”
September 2010 September 2010
CTE FOUND IN COLLEGE PLAYER NFL GIVES $30 MILLION FOR RESEARCH Dr. McKee and the BU group report the first case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a college football player, 21-year- NFL announces a $30 million donation to the National old Owen Thomas, sparking national headlines. Thomas had Institutes of Health for research into brain trauma. never been diagnosed with a concussion, raising fears that CTE in his case was caused by the subconcussive hits that happened in the course of his football career. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/timeline-the-nfls-concussion-crisis/ 14/38 4/4/2014 Timeline: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis | League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis | FRONTLINE | PBS
2011
February 2011
DAVE DUERSON COMMITS SUICIDE
Former Chicago Bears player Dave Duerson commits suicide by shooting himself in the chest and leaves a note asking for his brain to be studied: “Please, see that my brain is given to the NFL’s brain bank.” Duerson is later diagnosed with CTE by Dr. McKee.
March 2011
NFL CHANGES KICK-OFF RULES
The NFL moves up kick-offs by five yards to the 35-yard line in hopes of reducing the speed of collisions during kickoff.
August 2011
PLAYER FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST NFL
Former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling files a lawsuit against the NFL. He will later be joined by more than 4,500 other former players who claim that the league engaged in a “concerted effort of deception and denial” in its handling of the science of concussions and brain trauma.
October 2011
DR. MCKEE BRIEFS CONGRESS ON CTE
Dr. McKee presents the Owen Thomas case before Congress and warns of the dangers of sub-concussive hits, which can be asymptomatic. “We really have to address the way sports are played,” she says.
2012
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2012 NFL SEASON SEES A 14% RISE IN CONCUSSIONS
FRONTLINE reports that despite rule changes designed to reduce concussions, the 2012 season marked a 14 percent increase in concussions from the previous year.
April 2012
RAY EASTERLING COMMITS SUICIDE
Former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling, whose legal action against the NFL was joined by thousands of other players, commits suicide by shooting himself at the age of 62. He is later diagnosed with CTE.
May 2012
JUNIOR SEAU COMMITS SUICIDE
The linebacker shot himself in the chest at age 43, two years after retiring. FRONTLINE and ESPN report that after Seau’s family was contacted by Omalu as well as McKee’s BU group, the NFL steered his brain toward researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The NIH later diagnoses Seau with CTE.
August 2012
NFL FUNDS YOUTH CONCUSSION AWARENESS INITIATIVE
The NFL announces it’s funded Heads Up Football, a new USA Football initiative to promote safety and concussion awareness in youth football.
November 2012 November 2012
DR. MCKEE PRESENTS RESEARCH AT GOODELL SPEAKS ABOUT SPORTS CONFERENCE, FACES CONCUSSIONS CRITCISM The NFL commissioner speaks about player safety at the Harvard School of Public Health. He emphasizes the league’s Dr. McKee presents her findings of CTE in 33 of the 34 brains of focus on making the game safer, but he also points out that former football players that she’s examined at the annual there are still unanswered questions when it comes to the long- Conference of Concussion in Sport hosted by FIFA, the term impact of concussions: international soccer federation, in Zurich. “In recent years, there has been a much sharper focus on McKee faces sharp criticism at the conference, particularly concussions in football and other sports. There are still around the question of a causal relationship between football unanswered questions, but scientists and doctors know more and CTE and questions of prevalence when her research is about concussions and their long-term potential effects than based solely on case studies. they did even a few years ago. The key issue for us is how we use http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/timeline-the-nfls-concussion-crisis/ 16/38 4/4/2014 Timeline: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis | League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis | FRONTLINE | PBS based solely on case studies. they did even a few years ago. The key issue for us is how we use McKee told FRONTLINE that she’s aware that she’s only seeing a this new understanding to make the game even safer and more small sample. exciting in the future.” “I think to be truthful, even a selection bias in an autopsy sample, even if the family of an individual who is affected is much more likely to donate their brain, than a person who has no symptoms whatsoever,” she said, “given that, we have still been just ridiculously successful in getting examples of this disease.
2013
January 2013
NFLPA FUNDS $100 MILLION STUDY
NFL Players Association announces it will fund a $100 million Harvard Medical School research initiative into the health problems that affect current and former football players. The initiative’s focus is broad and includes heart problems and joint and skeletal injuries, as well as head trauma.
January 2013
NFL ANNOUNCES NEW CONCUSSION SAFETY MEASURES
The NFL announces that an independent neurologist will be placed on the sidelines of every game. The move follows the introduction of concussion assessment protocols designed by the Head, Neck and Spine committee including “a symptom checklist, a limited neurological examination including a cognitive evaluation, and a balance assessment” for players.
April 2013 April 2013
FORMER PLAYERS CALL NFL ACTIONS LEAGUE DENIES WITHHOLDING A ‘SHAM’ DATA
Hearings take place on whether lawsuits filed by over 1/3 of At a press conference following a hearing on 4500 retired retired NFL players claiming the league fraudulently concealed player’s pending lawsuits against the league, a lawyer for the football’s dangers to their brains will be litigated. Lawyers for NFL states: the former players argue the league profited by glorifying the “We strongly deny those allegations that we withheld any violence of the game and “set up a sham committee” that information or misled the players.” “spread misinformation” about neurological risks inherent in football.
August 2013
NFL ANNOUNCES MORE RULE CHANGES
The league releases a video explaining new NFL playing rules. Included is a ban on “crown of the helmet” hits outside of the tacklebox – designed to reduce high impact hits to the head.
August 2013
A SURPRISE SETTLEMENT
The NFL agrees to pay $765 million to settle the lawsuit with retired players. As part of the settlement, the league doesn’t admit any wrongdoing. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/timeline-the-nfls-concussion-crisis/ 17/38 4/4/2014 Timeline: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis | League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis | FRONTLINE | PBS admit any wrongdoing. In the days following the settlement, Commissioner Goodell reiterates that “there was no admission of guilt. There was no admission that anything was caused by football.” As of October 2013, lawyers are still determining how the proceeds will be used for former players. ESPN has reported that any retired player who died before 2006 would be excluded from the settlement, and that it’s unclear if there is enough money to cover the players that do qualify.
September 2013
PROBLEMS REMAIN DESPITE NEW CONCUSSION PROTOCOLS
Jets player Jeremy Kerley suffers a blow to the head during week 1 of the 2013 NFL season. After passing the mandatory concussion evaluation he returns to the game. The following day Kerley is diagnosed with a concussion.
October 2013
CTE RESEARCH CONTINUES
Dr. Ann McKee, Dr. Omalu and other scientists continue to study CTE in former athletes. McKee tells FRONTLINE she’s found CTE in the brains of 45 of the 46 former NFL players she’s examined.
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R E L A T E D
April 2, 2014 / 12:16 pm January 30, 2014 / 4:31 pm January 14, 2014 / 3:59 pm November 7, 2013 / 4:37 pm FRONTLINE Wins Peabody NFL Concussions: The 2013-14 Judge Rejects $765 Million NFL Three Former NFL Stars Award for “League of Denial” Season In Review Concussion Settlement Diagnosed With Telltale Signs of CTE
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Liz Hunter • 6 months ago It's a sad situation that money is more important than human lie's and their welfare. What do they need to prove that concussions are http://www.pbsr.oeragl./wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/league-of-denial/timeline-the-nfls-concussion-crisis/ 18/38 4/4/2014 Timeline: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis | League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis | FRONTLINE | PBS real. 3 • Share ›
gwarseneau • 6 months ago Big Tobacco all over again. 1 • Share ›
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