The professional football players’ union formed a NFL brain injury panel and held the first meeting in Florida. The brain injury panel is known as the Mackey-White Traumatic Brain Injury Committee. The committee is named after football Hall of Famers John Mackey and Reggie White. Both players have suffered the consequences of multiple concussions sustained during their football careers, White is deceased. The committee will serve to disperse brain injury information throughout the league and improve concussion outcomes for players. The committee is confident that their work will benefit football players and all athletes involved in contact sports.
Last October, Roger Goodell testified before Congress and explained the NFL’s concussion polices. Through time, stricter return-to-play guidelines have been developed. Each football team is required to consult with independent neurologists along with other stipulations.
Boston University has been involved in traumatic brain injury research including conducting research on helmets worn by football players. Athletes are encouraged to donate their brains to research after their deaths. So far approximately 250 professional and amateur athletes are on board. Sixty of the participants are retired NFL players. There are some active NFL players that have made this commitment also.