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Newly released court documents have revealed some shocking comments made by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell regarding player safety.
The documents, transcripts from a deposition of Roger Goodell in 2022, were part of a lawsuit against the NFL over head injuries suffered by players.
At one point during the deposition, Front Office Sports reports, Goodell claimed the media misstates and misrepresents what it reports regarding players’ head and brain injuries.
In the nearly nine-hour deposition from July 13, 2022, which was sealed until Saturday, when it appeared on a court docket, the commissioner said that there was a positive for the league when a player leaves his brain to science after committing suicide; he compared the risks associated with playing contact sports to walking down the street; and he expressed great frustration with the media’s coverage of head injuries, saying, “They misstate, they misrepresent things, and when they do that, they add to a narrative that I think is unfair and unfounded.”
“As you sit here today, sir, do you know whether there is any medical consensus regarding whether concussions result in long-term damage to NFL players who sustain concussions while playing in the NFL?” Roger Goodell was asked.
“I think there’s still a great deal of uncertainty about the causation issue, if that’s what you’re referring to,” he replied.
In another deposition, Jeff Pash, Roger Goodell’s own attorney, responded to the same question and said, “I think we’ve said that there can be long-term effects.”
“And are you aware that Commissioner Goodell testified that the causation has not yet been established regarding long-term effects of concussions as it related to concussions sustained by players during their playing days?” he was then asked.
Pash’s (non-)answer was that he had not been briefed on Roger Goodell’s testimony.
Roger Goodell was also asked, “Did you find it an issue of concern for the NFL that multiple NFL players committed suicide and left notes indicating that they wanted their brains studied, to determine whether their injuries resulted from their play in the NFL?”
The NFL commissioner replied, “I’m not sure I would agree with that entire statement. I think players who want to participate in the research necessary to advance science is a positive thing for us. Obviously, the circumstances are incredibly unfortunate.”
In a follow-up question, Goodell was asked, “So, you think that the players who left notes and said, ‘I want my brain studied’ was a positive development towards science?”
His response?
“When you have research and brains can be studied … hopefully something good comes from that and in discovery,” he replied. “That’s how science advances. Obviously, as I stated, the unfortunate circumstances of anybody committing suicide are horrific in and of themselves. But there are a lot of factors that probably go into that.”
Roger Goodell’s entire testimony can essentially be summed up with his own quote given during the deposition.
“We all know there’s risks with playing football and other sports. There’s risks to walking down the street,” he said.