50 signatures reached
To: Roger Stokoe Goodell, CEO of the NFL
Demand the NFL prohibit race-norming and pay reparations
Black NFL players have been denied concussion payouts after neuropsychologists were allowed / encouraged / required to race-norm their cognitive test results. This means that a Black former athlete with the same score as a white former athlete is presumed to have a lower score prior to his concussions, which diminishes his chance of being diagnosed with dementia and receiving a payout for injury. The CEO of the NFL should re-examine cases for every Black NFL former athlete plaintiff without race-norming and increase payouts for those whose compensation has been delayed for this reason.
Why is this important?
I am a neurologist / neuroscientist. In 2016, the NFL acknowledged the link between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (1). They agreed to a total payout of up to $1B for thousands of lawsuits. They then proceeded to payout pennies on the dollar of what players and their families were owed (2). 60% of athletes in the NFL are Black. Most recently, this exploitation shamefully persists in the context of a performative $250M commitment over 10 years to combat systemic racism. For orientation, annual revenue during a pandemic (2020) was $12B.
Tell NFL CEO Roger Stokoe Goodell to re-examine cases for every Black NFL former athlete without race-norming and increase payouts to meaningfully address the impact of neurological injuries sustained + delay in compensation.
(1) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/nfl-acknowledges-a-link-between-football-cte/
(2) https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2018/10/23/nfl-players-family-members-settlement/1736602002/
(3) https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/553482-nfl-accused-of-systemic-racism-in-handling-black-ex-players-brain