The NFL has been dealing with concussion issues and reporting on the subject in the media in high volume over the past few years and after high profile suicides of former players like Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, the league gets the documentary treatment from PBs and Frontline with "League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis," which will air on Tuesday October 8 on PBS at 9 pm.
The documentary has been in the works for some time and it is based on the book by the same name by ESPN reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru and while the investigation was previously co-branded with ESPN, the network reportedly pulled out due to pressure from the NFL.
The New York Times reported that story and while ESPN pulled out, no content was changed and now the documentary will be airing on Tuesday and it likely scares the NFL, as it makes a number of accusations, including that the league downplayed the effects of concussions and also tried to discredit other research regarding head injuries.
The NFL and ESPN are broadcast partners so it isn't that crazy to think they would pressure the network, but it is troubling from a journalistic standpoint, as the network has plenty of good reporters working on hard hitting stories, including on shows like "Outside the Lines", but now that it has been banished to ESPN2, that could show how much of an emphasis the network wants on those types of things.
Either way, the documentary will air on Tuesday at 9 pm and the main premise describes it as a look at how concussions and brain injuries have impacted the game and also about how and when the NFL knew about concussions and how they affect players. It asks the question about what the NFL knew and when they found out and the accompanying book compared the situation to tobacco companies and nicotine and when all that went down with the execs facing Congress.
The documentary comes at an interesting time for the NFL, as the league just settled a lawsuit with former players for nearly $800 million and while Roger Goodell has touted player safety and new rules over the years, the documentary puts out some very damning evidence, as the book (in a released except) described countless times where the NFL tried to discredit scientists and cover up information related to the game and head injuries. The NFL of course put out a statement and sent out emails regarding player safety and new rules in response to the documentary, but based on what is in the movie, those seem to be just a way for the league to try and sway opinion back to their side.
