A new book, League of Denial, written by ESPN investigative reporters, charges the NFL with 20 years of undermining concussion research and exercising its muscle to sweep evidence regarding the seriousness of how brain injuries affect current and former players under the rug.
Authors Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru chronicle what they argue to be the league’s abuse through the tenures of Paul Tagiliabue and current commissioner Roger Goodell, saying that the NFL highlighted favorable reports and bullied scientists to hide research that brought the issue to the forefront.
Excerpts of the not-yet-released book will be appearing in ESPN the Magazine as well as Sports Illustrated. Once excerpt reads: “There are many differences, but one is that football’s health crisis featured not millionsof anonymous victims but very public figures whose grotesque demisesseemed almost impossible to reconcile with their personas.”
NFL executives declined to comment on the book which portrays their league as a big, bad bully of the medical community.