Keller @ Large: Concussion Cover-Up?
BOSTON (CBS) - During the final six years of his career, Dallas Cowboys star quarterback Troy Aikman suffered four concussions, according to press accounts and the NFL's official injury reports.
But according to this New York Times story, they were among more than a hundred concussions that were never reported to a special league committee investigating the concussion problem, despite league claims that "all players who reported any symptoms...were included in this study."
The Times report comes amid ongoing controversy over the league's handling of concussion issues that are blamed for the post-career suicide of former Patriot Junior Seau, and for curtailing the careers of other stars like 49ers quarterback Steve Young.
In lengthy written responses (here and here), the NFL dismissed many of the Times' claims. But in an eerily familiar echo of its mishandling of the alleged Deflategate evidence, they acknowledged that "not all concussions were reported," confirming to the Times that "clubs were not required to submit their data and not every club did."
But on this issue, Patriots owner Robert Kraft is siding with the league.
"Any contact sport, whether it's women's soccer, hockey, football, there are gonna be concussions," says Kraft. "I'll tell you this, the game has never been safer, from an equipment point of view. From a medical point of view."
It's been more than forty years since the Watergate scandal taught us all a valuable lesson - however bad a mistake may be, the cover-up always makes it worse. According to the Times, it's a lesson the NFL apparently still struggles to absorb.