In a league letter sent out by Roger Goodell to all NFL executives he indicates that NFL medical advisor Elliot Pellman, the man who routinely dismiseed the connection between concussion and football will retire and be replaced.

Pellman served a 30 year career with the NFL. The rheumatologist was team doctor for the New York Jets and also chairman of the league’s Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee.

Goodell pushed Pellman into retirement after continued criticism about the league’s stance that football does not necessarily lead to concussions, and recently reports have surfaced the some people in the NFL have attempted to influence studies done by the National Institutes of Health.

“As we add additional full-time medical resources to our team, it is important to recognize and express our gratitude to Dr. Elliot Pellman, who is retiring after nearly 30 years of service, first to the New York Jets and then to the NFL,” Goodell said. “We thank Dr. Pellman for his dedicated service to the game and for his many contributions to the NFL and our clubs, and appreciate his willingness to aid in this transition over the next few months.”

Pellman spent two decades overseeing studies at the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee that downplayed the significance of concussions.

In Goodell’s letter he outlined the duties on the new medical officer, which will include that the NFL research funds are spent in an effective and targeted way.

“We intend to hire a highly credentialed physician to serve as chief medical officer and work in the league office on a full-time basis,” Goodell wrote. “This individual will be responsible for working with our team medical staffs, the players’ association and our medical committees, as well as the broader independent scientific and medical communities.”

In May, a congressional report concluded that NFL officials had pressured the NIH to strip a $16 million project from Robert Stern, a Boston University researcher.

The report claims that at least a half-dozen top NFL health officials attempted to influence the major U.S. government study on brain disease and football.

The league had given the NIH a $30 million “unrestricted gift” that would pay for the study. But the NIH’s decision to keep Stern led the NFL to back out of a signed agreement to pay for the study, according to the report.

A five-page report that outlined the study and its objectives was sent to the NFL, which agreed to the terms and committed $16,325,242 in funding — almost the entire budget. NFL general counsel Jeff Pash and representatives of the NIH and the Foundation for the NIH, a nonprofit organization created by Congress to help maintain the NIH’s independence, signed the document.

Let;s see how the new chief medical officer does.  There has been a proven link between concussions and CTE and now more and more you are seeing NFL players retire early for fear they will experience long term CTE effects.  It will be interesting to see what the new medical officer says and how closely he or she will work with the equipment manufacturers to try and make safer equipment to prevent the head injuries that occur frequently.

Source: Courthouse News Service