The news that Tom Brady’s stolen Super Bowl jersey had been recovered came less than 24 hours after San Francisco 49ers legend Dwight Clark revealed he has ALS, and at least one person who is familiar with the league does not believe the timing was a coincidence.
An NFL agent hinted to ESPN’s Josina Anderson that he or she believes the NFL was trying to cover up the shocking revelation Clark made on Sunday night by leaking word that Brady’s jersey had been tracked down.
One NFL agent told me he thinks it's no coincidence "news of Brady's jersey being found came one day after Dwight Clark's ALS announcement."
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 21, 2017
If true, that would be despicable. But given the history of the NFL and the way they have tried to cover up the long-term health hazards of playing football, it would not exactly be shocking. In his statement, Clark said he suspects football has played a role in his condition and urged the NFL Players Association to work with the league to make the game safer.
By now, the link between CTE and playing football is indisputable. Still, we have seen NFL officials make themselves look bad time and time again by denying science. Why wouldn’t we believe they would pull a cheap stunt like taking attention away from Clark’s illness for the betterment of the shield? No reason, really.
