Would you let your kids play football?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Just a quick warning, this episode includes a brief mention of suicide. I know we are officially in September and that means for a lot of you, tailgate plans are brewing and the kid-sized cleats are in the shopping cart. In other words, football season is back. And you know I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but this week we're talking about recent news that's giving some pause to football players and fans alike. A new study from researchers at Mass General Brigham, published in late August in the prominent medical journal The BMJ, revealed that from a sample of athletes who played at least one NFL game in their careers and who died between 2016 and 2021, a minimum of around twenty-five percent of those players, that's one in every four of those players, had a brain condition called CTE upon their death.
CTE is short for chronic, traumatic, encephalopathy. It's a brain condition linked to repeated head impacts and concussions like those that occur on the football field in games, practices, and scrimmages across the country to players of all ages. The NFL has responded by saying in a statement to NPR that the league, quote, continuously strives to make the game of football safer, including by implementing strategies to reduce concussions and head impacts. The NFL remains committed to ensuring that the NFL community has access to a robust and expanding set of resources to enhance their physical and mental well-being. We encourage former players to utilize these resources to identify and seek treatment when they are concerned about their.
health. Meanwhile, the NFL Players Association, which is the Players Union, told its members these findings should serve as quote, a call to action across the entire football ecosystem. We all share responsibility to advance research, improve access to care, develop better treatments, and support those affected by the long-term impacts of the game. While we have learned a great deal over the past two decades, there is more work to do. End quote. Despite these findings, the new NFL season will kick off unabated tonight. My question is: how did we get here? And is this news strong enough or scary enough to change this country's relationship to football? To parse through these questions of football, masculinity, and American fantasy.
I'm here with co-host of NPR's Code Switch, Gene Dembe. Welcome back, Gene. What's good with you, Brittany? Good to see you again. Good to see you. And I'm also here. Here with Elsie Granderson, host and creator of the Elsie Granderson Podcast, and op ed columnist at the LA Times, among other things. Hi, Elsie.
Hey there, Brittany. Thank you very much for having me. What's
up,
Jane?
Love the podcast. Oh, thank you for I've been a fan of y'all since the Yes Ben days. I go on Gashov, but yeah, yeah, yeah. Thanks, Robin.
Oh, I love when this happens. I love when this happens. Really? Hello, hello, I'm Brittany Luce and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident.
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Yeah.
Okay, I have so many questions about CT. So I I wanted to be able to have you all because Jean, I know that you have been a football critic and also a football enjoyer for a very long time. And also same thing to you, El Z. I mean, the sports is something that you don't inside it out. I mean, this is this is y'all's lane.
What does the new BMJ study reveal about CTE rates among former NFL players?
And I myself am somebody who's not super into football, but I have been watching
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–4:02
2
What does the new BMJ study reveal about CTE rates among former NFL players?
4:02–6:48
3
How has the NFL responded to the findings on brain injuries and what resources are offered to players?
6:48–8:43
4
Why do the NFL Players Association view the CTE study as a call to action for the entire football ecosystem?
8:43–18:33
5
How do labor‑rights perspectives frame NFL players as workers with limited contract guarantees?
18:33–29:36