Concussions in the NFL The NFL has known for some time that seri- Many NFL players have reportedly com- ous brain damage could be caused by the head mitted suicide because of the depression trauma that is part of a normal football game. and dementia associated with the head The sudden serious jarring of a football play- trauma they suffered while playing the er's head in normal tackling and blocking has game they loved. Others have reportedly been suspected for decades of causing lasting suffered CTE and other brain disorders, health problems. But it took the sensational such as Parkinson's disease. According to film, Concussion (2015), about Dr. Bennet Boston University, Omalu's discovery that this head trauma was Chronic traumatic encephalopathy linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative (CTE) and that the NFL was covering it up disease of the brain found in ath- for many years to raise the public's awareness letes (and others) with a history of to the full extent of the problem. repetitive brain trauma, including Dr. Omalu, a medical examiner in Pitts- symptomatic concussions as well as burgh, began his studies in 2002. Although asymptomatic sub concussive hits the NFL began studying the problem in to the head.... This trauma trig- 1994, the NFL initially denied or downplayed gers progressive degeneration of the the risks and began to introduce preventive brain tissue, including the build-up measures only in 2009. By 2013, the NFL of an abnormal protein called tau. required players suspected of suffering con- These changes in the brain can begin cussions during a game to submit to specific months, years, or even decades sideline tests conducted by an independent after the last brain trauma or end neurologist before returning to play. The of active athletic involvement. The NFL has committed $130 million to research brain degeneration is associated with and has agreed to a payment of $765 million memory loss, confusion, impaired to settle a lawsuit from retired players. judgment, impulse control problems,239 aggression, depression, and, eventu- ally, progressive dementia. Although questions are continually raised about the efficacy of the NFL's mea- sures to protect players from head injuries, the NFL continues to play. Many owners, management, players, and fans consider CTE to be just an occupational hazard