The National Football League has fired back at The New York Times over a story published today alleging that the NFL’s concussion research is deeply flawed. The NFL says the Times “published pages of innuendo and speculation for a headline with no basis in fact.”
In a statement, the NFL says the Times’s story is “contradicted by clear facts that refute both the thesis of the story and each of its allegations.”
The NFL also says, “The studies that are the focus of the Times’ story used data collected between 1996-2001. They were necessarily preliminary and acknowledged that much more research was needed.”
“The story claims that the League relied on legal advice from Lorillard and the Tobacco Institute. In fact, neither then-NFL Commissioner, Mr. Tagliabue, the League nor its counsel ever solicited, reviewed, or relied on any advice from anyone at Lorillard or the Tobacco Institute regarding health issues,” the statement says.
The league claims to have been on the “forefront of promoting and funding independent research on these complex issues” since the time of the study. The NFL accuses the Times of ignoring more than 50 pages of information demonstrating the facts.
“Contact sports will never be concussion-free, but we are dedicated to caring for our players, not just throughout long careers but over the course of long lives,” the statement says.
Read the entire NFL statement here.