NFL Health and Safety Update—February 13, 2013
For the complete release, click here
Archive for 'Player Health and Safety'
NFL Statement on NIH finding
We appreciate the Seau family’s cooperation with the National Institutes of Health. The finding underscores the recognized need for additional research to accelerate a fuller understanding of CTE. The NFL, both directly and in partnership with the NIH, Centers for Disease Control and other leading organizations, is committed to supporting a wide range of independent medical and scientific research that will both address CTE and promote the long-term health and safety of athletes at all levels. The NFL clubs have already committed a $30 million research grant to the NIH, and we look forward to making decisions soon with the NFL Players Association on the investment of $100 million for medical research that is committed in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. We have work to do, and we’re doing it.
40 Finalists Qualify for NFL Punt, Pass And Kick National Finals Prior to NFC Divisional Playoff Game in Atlanta
Annual event features finalists from 25 states, FOX to spotlight champions
Forty young athletes from across the country will compete in the NFL PUNT, PASS & KICK National Finals on Saturday, Jan. 12, in Atlanta during the weekend of the NFL Divisional Playoffs. A special on-field award presentation will air during the Atlanta Falcons-Seattle Seahawks NFC Divisional Playoff Sunday, Jan. 13 on FOX. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. ET.
Finalists will compete separately in five age divisions at the Falcons’ team facility with the top scorer in each group crowned national champion. All participants launch two punts, two passes and two kicks with scores based on distance and accuracy (in feet). The best score from each activity is tabulated to determine the athlete’s total. All youngsters advanced to the national finals through local, sectional and team championship competitions held throughout the NFL regular season. The top four scorers in each age group from across the country qualified as national finalists.
NFL Punt, Pass & Kick, which began in 1961, is celebrating its 51st anniversary. It is the nation’s largest grassroots sports skills competition. NFL stars – including Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks TROY AIKMAN and DAN MARINO – competed in the Punt, Pass & Kick program as youngsters.
All participants and their guest are provided airfare, hotel accommodations and tickets to the Falcons-Seahawks NFC Divisional Playoff.
Finalists along with hometown and the NFL team that hosted their regional competition.
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The following editorial appears in today’s USA Today
Editorial: Why is NFL union fighting HGH testing?
And how are football players getting so supersized?
USA Today 12/28/12
The Editorial Board
In 1970, Gene Ferguson of the San Diego Chargers had a unique distinction: He was the only 300-pounder in the NFL. In the 1980s, William “The Refrigerator” Perry, at 340 pounds, was still a rarity. This weekend, in the NFL’s final regular season games, Perry-size linemen will be all over the field. More than 350 players tip the scales at 300 pounds or more.
Watch the bowl games, and you’ll see that college players have grown, too, with scores of them packing on 30 pounds — and some as much as 80 pounds — in a single year, according to a recent Associated Press investigation.
It’s possible that all these behemoths are just eating their Wheaties. It’s also possible some are getting help from illegal human growth hormone (HGH).
The only way to find out for sure is to test for it. The NFL appeared on the brink of doing just that in August 2011, when the league and the players’ union agreed to a modest testing program in their new contract.
Now, nearly 18 months later, that plan looks more like a tease. The NFL Players Association has thrown up obstacles, insisting that the current test — already used on thousands of Olympians — might be unreliable. The union also wants a “population study” to determine whether size would affect test outcomes.
If this stall sounds familiar, it’s because it is. In the 1990s, Major League Baseball and its players’ union ignored the obvious signs that some of its biggest stars were using steroids, then the drug of choice for cheaters. As players aged, they grew not only bigger but also stronger, a suspicious combination. Barry Bonds’ head size even enlarged.
Today, the evidence in football seems just as obvious to those willing to look. Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez said he suspects HGH use: “I see guys I saw in college; now they’re in the NFL, and they look totally different,” he told TheIndianapolis Star last year.
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