Pittsburgh Steelers Announce Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced the launch of the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research on Thursday in an effort to gather more information on concussions and their impact on football players. 

The Steelers shared the news on their official website and revealed a pledge of $1 million to get it up and running.

According to Bob Labriola of Steelers.com, team president Art Rooney II said the following regarding the foundation and its purpose:

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Most people don't realize that Pittsburgh is one of the leading centers for brain research and concussion treatment in the world. To date, significant and important progress has been made in the area of treatment of concussions. And, we have access to so much more accurate information than ever to assess an athlete's progress in making the determination on when it is safe to return to play.

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The late Noll led the Steelers to four Super Bowl championships as a head coach and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Per Labriola, he was also among the first within football to stress the importance of researching head injuries and gaining a better understanding of their effects.

Former Steelers running back and current ESPN analyst Merril Hoge was forced to retire due to concussions and will be part of the board of directors. According to Labriola, Hoge is hopeful that the foundation will lead to breakthroughs in head injury treatment: 

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There are a lot of good ideas out there. Cognitive testing is a tool, and there may be other cutting edge tools out there that might just need a little bit of funding to get us to where it helps the care of the injury. That's part of it. How we deliver our message is another part of it. How you can get the correct information to parents so they can be empowered to make the right choices for their kids.

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The formation of the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research comes in lockstep with the NFL's continued uptick in concussion awareness.

In September, the league announced a $100 million concussion initiative meant to fund research into head injuries in football.

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