Former NFL Players File New Suit Against NFL over Concussions

The NFL has yet another headache on its hands, with concussions once again coming to the fore.

According to The Associated Press, a group of 21 former players, led by ex-Miami Dolphin Patrick Surtan and Oronde Gadsden, are suing the league over brain damage in connection to concussions and other head injuries suffered on the football field.

The players are accusing the NFL of deliberately covering up and/or ignoring evidence connecting concussions to neurological disorders later in life "with the intent of inducing NFL players, including plaintiffs, to return to play as soon as physically possible after having suffered a football-related concussion and to promote an aggressive style of football that would attract viewers."

The lawsuit highlights the NFL's creation of a committee of doctors and researchers to study the issue in 1994. 

That committee was supposed to act independent of the league in its work, but as the suit claims, its members—none of whom specializing in neurology or brain research—were tampered with. 

The committee in question published its findings in 2003, stating:

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"There was no long-term negative health consequence associated with concussions."

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The NFL selected new leadership for the committee in 2010.  Shortly thereafter, the committee described the data used in the previously published study as "infect" and unscientific.

The plaintiffs want a jury trial and are seeking unspecified damages.

The NFL has denied the allegations, suggesting instead that player safety is and always has been a priority.

This latest development comes on the heels of the league's institution of a new concussion protocol whereby certified medical trainers will be assigned to each and every game to monitor head injuries suffered on the field.

The league came under fire when the Cleveland Browns allowed quarterback Colt McCoy to continue playing after sustaining a head injury that went undetected by the team's trainers. 

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