Harvard Study on Injuries Funded by NFL Players’ Union

Harvard University has been awarded a $100 million grant by the National Football League players’ union.  The grant will fund a comprehensive study of a wide range of health problems and conditions affecting professional football players, such as heart problems and brain injuries.

As reported by Reuters, the study will take place over the next ten years and will focus on hundreds of former NFL players—members of the NFL Players’ Association.  The sad truth is that NFL players frequently suffer long-term damage from years of delivering and taking hits.  The goal of the study, according to Harvard University officials, is to limit that long-term damage.

Concerns over football related injuries, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), are not limited to professional football players.  Parents of football players on all levels, from pewee leagues to college teams, have voiced concern over hits to the head and possible concussions and brain injuries.  For that reason, Jeffrey Flier, Dean of Harvard Medical School, says the research would address football-related health concerns across all levels.

Concerns over football-related injuries have even reached the White House.  President Obama has gone on record saying that if he had a son he would have to think long and hard before allowing him to participate in football.  Those were his thoughts as expressed to The New Republic one week prior to the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans.

Over 2,000 former NFL players are currently suing the NFL for keeping information about the risk of brain injuries hidden.

Brain injuries can be catastrophic and life-altering.  If you or a loved one has sustained a brain injury due to another’s negligence, you have the right to hold that person accountable and to recover fair compensation.  The knowledgeable New Jersey brain injury attorneys at Lependorf & Silverstein are here to help.  Call our Princeton office at (609) 240-0040 for a free case evaluation.