RUNNING INTERFERENCE

NFL Omitted 100+ Concussions From Report

Downplayed incidence of head injuries.

An investigation by The New York Times found that the National Football League’s concussion research was incomplete—and far more more flawed than previously known. The league has stood by the research, despite the fact that it left out 100 diagnosed concussions from the studies from 1996 through 2001, according to confidential data obtained by the Times. Some of the head traumas left out of the papers included severe injuries to quarterbacks Steve Young and Troy Aikman. The committee reportedly used the incomplete data to make concussions appear less frequent than they were in reality. When prompted, officials acknowledged that “the clubs were not required to submit their data and not every club did,” adding that the missing cases were not intentionally meant to “alter or suppress the rate of concussions.”