NFL official admits football, CTE link

U of F is a state school and most often liability and damages are limited when suing the State. I don’t know Florida’s Tort Claim Act, but the pockets aren’t deep when suing the government, especially when suing for injuries that don’t arise from Constitutional cause of action. Wrongful death and or negligence is generally severely limited in payouts.

 

RIP former USC/NFL player Kevin Ellison.

From starring for USC football to dying while wandering through traffic on a freeway, what happened to Kevin Ellison? - Los Angeles Times

 

Note the praise for the book, most of which comes from the football establishment. The doctor who consulted on the book strikes me as one of the 3% of alleged climate scientists who don’t think man causes climate change. I suspect the doctor is among the minority of neurologists who are deniers.

 

That is odd because Hoge has been outspoken about the dangers of brain injury while playing football for years. He was nearly killed during a game when he played for the Bears. They allowed him to play with a concussion and he took another blow to the head. He was knocked out and his heart actually stopped in the locker room before the medical staff revived him.

Cummings does seem to be questioning the connection between football and CTE. I believe this is the same Dr. Peter Cummings who wrote this piece.

I'm a brain scientist and I let my son play football

 

Merrill certainly didn’t let his beliefs stop him from getting paid though.

HOGE WINS LAWSUIT AGAINST DOCTOR

 

But there's money to be made being the contrarian and protector of The Shield.

 

The CTE/football connection has not been scientifically established. There are basic problems with the BU study.

[EDIT] I don't know what Hoge is claiming, but the basic premise of questioning some of the head trauma reporting is valid.

 

If Hoge's account is true, the Bears' medical staff failed to ensure he was fully recovered from his first concussion before allowing him to return to the field. This led to a second brain injury before the first was fully healed, which is extremely dangerous. The chances of permanent brain injury or death go up significantly if a person suffers a second blow to the head before a concussion has fully healed.

I have no problem with him filling a lawsuit in that case. The medical staff has to protect players. Sometimes that means protecting them from themselves, though I understand that is asking a lot.

 

The one study is definitely flawed, primarily due to way the testing pool was put together.

 

Obviously the BU study has confirmation bias issues. They recognize this. But that’s one of several studies that suggest a link between concussions and CTE.

Where Dr. Fedora and others fail is the implication that something is specious simply because it hasn’t yet met the standards of proof. Of course it hasn’t. The studies haven’t been going long enough. This is like starting a study of climate in Buffalo in May and then decreeing in October that reports of Buffalo’s harsh winter climate are bunk because not a single inch of snow has fallen since the study began.