NFL Acknowledges Link Between CTE And Football Head Trauma For First Time
WASHINGTON (AP) — NFL executive Jeff Miller acknowledged a link between football-related head trauma and the brain disease CTE, the first admission by a league official that there is such a relationship.
Appearing before a congressional committee Monday, Miller, the NFL's senior vice president for health and safety, was asked about a connection between hits in football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. His answer was "certainly yes."
The NFL has not previously linked playing football to CTE directly.
Miller appeared at a roundtable discussion of concussions before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce and cited the work of Boston University neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee. She has found CTE in the brains of 90 former pro football players.
CTE can only be detected after death. Among the players found to have CTE in their brains was Hall of Famer Junior Seau.
ESPN first reported the story.
___
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
