Robert Kraft Spearheads International Efforts To Improve NFL Concussion Research
By Brent Schwartz, CBS Boston Sports
Even during a week-long NFL excursion in Israel, the league's issue with concussions remains a prominent storyline.
The trip, spearheaded by Patriots owner Robert Kraft, includes 18 Pro Football Hall of Fame members such as Joe Montana and Jim Brown. The visit included an "innovation expo" that included presentations related to emerging technology aimed at improving NFL player safety.
The group was pitched presentations from 10 companies, one of which being ElMindA, an organization that builds and promotes "data-driven" brain healthcare. During their presentation, ElMindA showcased a system it created that produces personalized functional "cognitive mapping" for players, stemming from a database of brain scans.
The Kraft Group has been an investor of the company since 2015. Kraft mentioned rule changes, equipment and health care as some of the reasons why the game has become much safer today than in the past.
"I really think that may be overdone a little bit. I mean, I don't think the game has ever been safer than it is now," Kraft said, via the Associated Press. "I mean, we have independent doctors at the stadiums that can take a player out, and when I started in the league the head coach was really making certain decisions. So I think we have made great strides moving ahead in terms of the health of the game."
After many years of ignoring or outright denying issues with concussions, the NFL has since acknowledged the problems it faces with the connections between CTE and pro football.
Last Thursday, it was announced that a total of $9 million in benefits were given by the NFL in relation to the first two claims in the league's billion-dollar concussion settlement.
