In perhaps its clearest admission that football can cause degenerative brain disease, the NFL's top health and safety official admitted Monday that there was a link between the sport and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease found in dozens of retired players.
In a round-table discussion on Capitol Hill, Jeff Miller, the NFL's senior vice president of health and safety policy, was asked by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., whether "there is a link between football and degenerative brain disorders like CTE."
"The answer to that is certainly, yes," Miller said.
Miller went on to say that Dr. Ann McKee and her colleagues at Boston University had found the disease in many players who died. The disease, which is diagnosed only posthumously, can be identified by a buildup of a tau protein in parts of the brain. Miller said that there were still questions about the prevalence of the disease.
For years, the NFL denied there was any relationship between tackle football and long-term brain disease. Schakowsky said that the "NFL has a very troubling track record of denying and discrediting scientific inquiry into the risks of playing football."
In 2009, a league spokesman told The New York Times that it was "quite obvious from the medical research that's been done that concussions can lead to long-term problems."
The league soon stepped back from that position. Commissioner Roger Goodell has said repeatedly that it would let the medical community determine the connection between football and CTE.
"We want the facts, so we can develop better solutions," said Brian McCarthy, a league spokesman. "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."
In a settlement with thousands of retired NFL players, the league has agreed to pay damages to the families of those who were found to have the disease between 2006 and last April, when the settlement was approved by a district court judge. Some players have appealed the settlement because they argue that players found with CTE in the future should also be paid.
The league has donated millions of dollars to scientists studying the disease.