NFL Reportedly Prevents Their Gift To The National Institute Of Health From Funding CTE Study

In 2012, the NFL made an “unrestricted gift to the National Institute of Health.” But according to ESPN’s Outside the Lines, there are some major strings attached to the money as the NFL will reportedly block it from being used to fund a CTE study; CTE or Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a degenerative brain condition suffered by many professional athletes who repeatedly suffer blows to the head.

“When the NFL’s ‘unrestricted’ $30 million gift was announced in 2012, the NIH said the money came ‘with no strings attached;’ however, an NIH official clarified the gift terms two years later, telling Outside the Lines that, in fact, the league retained veto power over projects that it funds,” says ESPN.

“Sources told Outside the Lines that the league exercised that power when it learned that Robert Stern, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Boston University, would be the project’s lead researcher. The league, sources said, raised concerns about Stern’s objectivity, despite an exhaustive vetting process that included a ‘scientific merit review’ and a separate evaluation by a dozen high-level experts assembled by the NIH.”

The project will go ahead, however, thanks to funding from the National Institute of Health, according to a statement issued Thursday; the release made no mention of the NFL. This news also comes as the Will Smith movie Concussion nears its release date.

Photo: A ‘Deflate-gate’ football © Leland Auctions.