As most of you know, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was called before Congress in October to discuss this subject and what the league was doing about it. Goodell said they were involved in a study. He was asked if he thought there was a link between multiple head injuries and dementia and Alzheimer's. He said he isn't a doctor.
Dr. Ira Casson is. He is also co-chair of NFL's committee on concussions, a paid gig. He did not attend the congressional hearing, but has said in the past that "despite what public perception might be, there is no valid scientific evidence that a career in the NFL, no matter how many concussions, is related to chronic brain damage."
Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., played a TV interview of Casson during the hearings in which he denied evidence of a link between multiple head injuries in NFL players with brain disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer's. She likened it to tobacco companies denying a link between smoking and health damage in the 1990s.
First reported in September, a University of Michigan survey of more than 1,000 retired NFL players found that 6.1 percent aged 50 and older reported that they had received a dementia-related diagnosis. That's five times the national average of 1.2 percent, but here's the kicker - players ages 30 through 49 reported dementia-related diagnoses at a rate of 1.9 percent, 19 times higher than the national average.
The NFL commissioned the study. But when it was released, the response was not "proof at last." It was the opposite. Casson minimalized it, called it a start. Another NFL medical adviser suggested it was flawed and touted the NFL's study of less players, due out in a few years, overseen by Casson.
