SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Submission Preview
NFL Acknowledges Link Between American Football and CTE
On Monday, the NFL publicly acknowledged for the first time the link between professional American football and degenerative brain disorders [nbcnews.com] such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy [wikipedia.org]. The league had long since admitted concussions were dangerous, but this is the first time long-term damage has been acknowledged. As recently as last month, long term damage had been denied. A 2012 study of the brains of deceased football players found that 34 out of 35 showed signs of damage [go.com].
The condition does not only affect football players, as athletes in rugby, boxing, ice hockey, association football (soccer), and wrestling are also at risk. CTE has been cited as a factor in the murder-suicides committed by football player Jovan Belcher [wikipedia.org] and former WWE Champion Chris Benoit [wikipedia.org].
Will this admission impact our popular love of sports? Prior bad news had not impacted business [post-gazette.com].
“The news issues away from the field have had absolutely no impact. … None,” said John Wildhack, ESPN executive vice president for programming and production. “The NFL continues to have just an incredible grip on the American sports culture.
