One of the leading researchers into the NFL’s concussion issue defended his group’s work against charges it is conducting a “war on football” on the eve of a major brain-injury symposium Wednesday at the United Nations.
Chris Nowinski, the former Harvard football player and pro wrestler whose Sports Legacy Institute’s work spurred the ongoing concussion lawsuit against the league, said allegations from the Wall Street Journal and other outlets he wants to get the sport banned or crippled are wrong.
“No one wants to see football go away,” Nowinski said during a news conference at the Super Bowl media center in Midtown. “But we do want to have honest discussions about how to play and even when to play, at what age you start tackling and having hundreds of hits to the head. It’s just a deep look at ways to make the game safer.”
Nowinski was speaking ahead of a Concussion Awareness Summit to be held Wednesday at the United Nations that will include former Giants Antonio Pierce and Jeremy Shockey, retired NFL greats Clinton Portis and Carl Eller and current players Jermichael Finley of the Packers and Sidney Rice of the Seahawks.
Also scheduled to take part is leading concussion expert Dr. Robert Cantu, as well as former NFL super agent Leigh Steinberg, who represented Troy Aikman, Steve Young and several other prominent quarterbacks and players who had to retire due to concussions.
Nowinski scoffed at the notion of a war on football because most of the people speaking out now are former players.
“It’s hard to consider the concussion conversation a ‘war on football’ because it’s coming from football players, for the most part,” Nowinski said. “There are a ton of retired athletes coming forward all the time, so we don’t consider this a war on football at all.
“Every sport looks to reform every year, either for entertainment reasons or safety reasons. We think this is an important time for football to change, to become safer, and we’re trying to point out the opportunities that we think are available to make the game safer.”