League of Denial: The High Cost of the Game It occurred to me while reading Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru’s League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth that if you asked most of your friends to list Americas most powerful corporate players, the NFL might not come up. Youd likely get a list of familiar tech, finance, and food companies. Google, Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola. The NFL generates billions upon billions of dollars, both for itself and as part of a cultural economy many of us participate in religiously each fall and winter, one that many other top-tier corporations have an economic stake in. But in comparison to those other giants, whose corporate fronts are virtually synonymous with their ubiquitous products, the NFL is a bit of an odd duck: The corporate body that runs the League flies relatively under the radar, with the teams and the players taking the spotlight. As we learn in League of Denial, by ESPN reporters Fainaru-Wada and Fainaru, it’s a very savvy front office that runs this league. Its one that somehow avoided player strikes and steroid scandals, and managed to increase the popularity of its product in an era in which its analogues (professional baseball and basketball) saw their fortunes wobble. It’s also one that has proven remarkably tone-deaf in the face of its biggest challenge yet: the growing perception, shared by many scientists, players, and now fans, that the game of football is killing players left and right. League of Denial details the struggle of a small group of talented, reputable scientists – many of them devout football fans – to bring to public and corporate attention the link between football-engendered concussions and debilitating chronic brain damage. The book illuminates the massive efforts undertaken by the corporate leadership of the NFL over the past twenty years to suppress and deny the scientific evidence these men and women uncover: These efforts include everything from ignoring clear evidence, funding and publishing misleading scientific data about concussions, smearing the reputations of any scientist who defied their agenda, and outright denial of the disease that was slowly and tragically killing some of the greatest players who ever played the game. It’s a fascinating book. The authors are accomplished journalists who craft a clear and immensely engaging narrative, using devastating portraits of afflicted players to reinforce the struggle researchers (dubbed “The Dissenters”) face in bringing their discoveries to the attention of the often-inexplicably dismissive NFL brass. Many of the researchers are nearly as memorable as the players; many others are revealed to be stubborn and pragmatic, flipping sides and working for the NFL after years of opposing it. Though it is clear that our understanding of what football does to the brain is far from complete, no fan of the sport who reads League of Denial can dismiss the link between repeated trauma sustained on the field and long-term brain injury. The research is too clear to deny, and the results are too tragic to ignore. What remains to be seen is how the leaders of the NFL may ultimately confront this reality, and what the effect might be on the players putting themselves at risk. Let’s hope that it is voices like Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru – and not those of corporate denial – that inform the future of this beautiful, dangerous game.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 08:00:00 +0000
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