Concussion Awareness Through Litigation
02.05.14
“We are speaking on the floor of the United Nations about brain trauma. This has never before been possible.”
One of the most impressive results of the NFL concussion litigation has been the increased concussion awareness of fans, parents and media since the first lawsuit was filed in April 2011 on behalf of Ray Easterling, Jim McMahon and three other former NFL players. Just three years ago, there was a very common fan reaction of “hey, these guys knew what they signed up for” and “they’re just suing because they blew all their money and now they just want a handout.”
Today, as evidenced by ever-growing football concussion conferences such as the one just held at the United Nations, a lot of that reaction has diminished. These days the idea that repetitive concussions can have dire longterm consequences and that tackle football is particularly dangerous in relation to concussions is much more readily accepted. The NFL of course hasn’t budged much publicly about learning anything new, but one could read the proposed $765 million concussion settlement as an acknowledgement of causation.
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