Over the next 10 years, the NFL Players Association will give Harvard Medical School $100 million to research, treat, and hopefully prevent the health problems that have been plaguing NFL players for years.
Harvard Medical School dean for clinical and translational research Dr. Lee Nadler, who is the co-director of the study, told Boston Public Radio that out of the 1,000 current NFL players, the study will examine the the 100 healthiest players and the 100 least healthy players. Once a spectrum is established, researchers can start to better understand which players are most at risk of injury, how to mitigate the risk, and how to treat injuries when problems arise.
The NFL, not the NFL Players Association, will ultimately decide whether to implement any of the recommendations come out of the study. Nadler said he hopes the NFL will consider their scientifically-based findings during discussions with the Players Association, rather than rumored innuendo.
"It's a little bit like the desire of the National Rifle Association not to study guns because the information would be difficult," he said. "We need real information which is well done, fair and honest so that people can make the correct decisions."
Hear the full interview here:
