NFL sued for concealing effects of concussions

nfl head hitSeventy-five former professional football players are suing the NFL, claiming it intentionally concealed the harmful effects of game-related concussions for 90 years according to TMZ .

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in L.A. County Superior Court and obtained by TMZ, the players and their wives claim, “The NFL knew as early as the 1920’s of the harmful effects on a player’s brain of concussions; however, until June of 2010 they concealed these facts from coaches, trainers, players and the public.”

The suit claims the NFL commissioned a study in 1994, titled “NFL Committee on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury” and published a report in 2004, concluding there was “no evidence of worsening injury or chronic cumulative effects” from multiple concussions.

The lawsuit claims that it wasn’t until the year 2010 until the NFL acknowledged the fact that concussions can lead to dementia, memory loss, CTE and related symptoms.

It now makes sense why the NFL was so quick to implement the rule changes for hits to the head last season.

All of the players involved in the suit are claiming they suffered injuries as a result of multiple concussions. The company that makes the helmets that NFL players exclusively use, Riddell, has also been named as a defendant in the suit.

You have to wonder if the NHL could be in for a similar lawsuit?