The NFL is getting the Frontline treatment from PBS, as the much anticipated documentary "League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis" is set to air on Tuesday, October 9 at 9 pm on local PBS channels and it will feature an in-depth look at how the league has handled the issues of concussions and brain injuries.
The NFL obviously isn't happy about the documentary since it makes some serious allegations, but those claims seem warranted, as there is documented evidence produced that shows that the NFL employed some questionable doctors and also tried to fudge studies regarding concussions. The New York Times reported that when ESPN pulled out of their partnership abruptly with Frontline for the documentary, it was because the NFL pressured them to do so and while the network said those claims were not true, no one was really surprised by it, as the league and network are broadcast partners on deals worth billions of dollars.
The move by ESPN to pull out or drop something the NFL doesn't like is not unprecedented, as the league previously forced the network to cancel its original television series "Playmakers" after it showed the controversial side of the game and put football in a negative light. That show got great reviews and was actually very good and what the NFL missed was that ESPN was not trying to make the league seem bad or controversial, but rather were trying to make a realistic and dramatic scripted series. Clearly the NFL disagreed and that was just an earlier instance of money trumping creativity.
Check here for the main PBS Frontline website for the documentary coverage or for more on the NFL and the "League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis" documentary.
This time around things are a bit more serious, as the allegations in the film against the NFL presents a willful ignorance by the league as well as a proactive stance of putting out information to counter what other scientists were doing regarding the effects of the game and head trauma. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent out an email to 10 million people on the league mailing list promoting all the things they have done and while it's true the legit has put in new rules and started the heads up program for younger players, it still doesn't address how the NFL acted regarding concussions up to this point.
The documentary and book were researched heavily by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru of ESPN and while the network no longer wants a connection to the film, that doesn't mean what airs will go away. The excerpts from the book that were released were very damning and accused the NFL of covering up information and also trying to discredit information that showed a link between football and concussions as well as long term head and brain injuries.
The brothers worked with Frontline for the film and while ESPN is now not branding the film, the two reporters have done some great work and there is also information about how the league tried to get the brain of Junior Seau to a researcher that they approved. That story on Outside the Lines and on ESPN.com was fascinating to read and shows the lengths the NFL will take to try and cover their tracks. Dave Duerson or Junior Seau both committed suicide and other players like Mike Webster died of brain diseases and now the league will be under the microscope for their role in covering up the issues.