E&C Democratic Leaders on Study of Football Players

Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Gene Green (D-TX), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO), and Digital Commerce & Consumer Protection Subcommittee Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) released the following joint statement today in response to news reports highlighting a new study examining the brains of former National Football League (NFL) players. The study examined the brains of 111 former NFL players and determined that 110 of those players had the degenerative brain disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE):

"This major study is a heartbreaking reminder that we must continue the fight to protect current, former, and future NFL players from CTE. We know that there is a direct relationship between football and CTE, and we cannot afford to wait to take substantive action to protect players of all ages from the risks of head trauma in contact sports. This study also demonstrates the importance of continued scientific research on CTE, which is why we must continue to support the important work carried out by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in this area, including on the relationship between this degenerative brain disease and contact sports."

Energy and Commerce Democrats have been a leading voice in investigating the relationship between CTE and contact sports such as football. Last year, Committee Democrats released a report exposing the NFL's efforts to influence NIH research on brain injuries.

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