NFL backtracks after league official acknowledges link between CTE, football

The NFL has wasted no time attempting to backpedal after a league official admitted there is a link between chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and playing football.

Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president for health and safety policy, was asked Monday at a roundtable discussion about concussions if he believes “there is a link between football and degenerative brain disorders.” Miller pointed to the research team led by Dr. Ann McKee at Boston University.

“Certainly, Dr. McKee’s research shows that a number of retired NFL players were diagnosed with CTE, so the answer to that question is certainly yes,” Miller said.

When asked to clarify if he believes there is a link, Miller said “sure” and noted that he is not a doctor.

Boston University researchers have found that 90 of 94 former NFL players whose brains were studied suffered from CTE, which can only be reliably diagnosed after death. The relationship between football and the disease seems extremely obvious to some, but Miller’s admission was the first time an NFL official has ever gone on record about concussions causing permanent problems later in life.

Naturally, the NFL tried to do some damage control in a statement released on Tuesday.

“He was discussing Dr. Mckee’s findings and made the additional point that a lot more questions need to be answered,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy wrote, via A.J. Perez of USA Today Sports. “He said that the experts should speak to the state of the science.”

Miller very clearly said research has “certainly” established a link between CTE and football, and the NFL very clearly wishes he had not.

“We want the facts, so we can develop better solutions,” McCarthy said. “And that’s why we’re deeply committed to advancing medical research on head trauma, including CTE, to let the science go where the science goes. We know the answers will come as this field of study continues to advance.”

Why is the NFL so terrified of acknowledging the obvious? For starters, that could lead to more money being shelled out in lawsuits. In addition, we already have people like this NFL legend saying he would encourage kids to stay away from football. The league will hold out as long as it possibly can.