For years, the NFL relied on, and endorsed the medical expertise of, a rheumatologist with no formal training in neurology or brain science who denied a link between head trauma and certain brain diseases even as scientific evidence of a
For years, the NFL relied on, and endorsed the medical expertise of, a rheumatologist with no formal training in neurology or brain science who denied a link between head trauma and certain brain diseases even as scientific evidence of a strong connection mounted.
As team doctor for the New York Jets, the leader of a committee on brain injuries and later a medical adviser to the league, the doctor, Elliot J. Pellman, was accused by independent researchers of promoting “junk science” and routinely putting NFL players in harm’s way by minimizing the effect of concussions.
Still, although the league had lowered his profile in recent years, he kept a job with it until Wednesday, when the NFL — almost as a footnote to an announcement about its search to fill a new position, chief medical officer — noted that he would leave the league.
“We thank Dr. Pellman for his dedicated service to the game and for his many contributions to the NFL and our clubs and appreciate his willingness to aid in this transition over the next few months,” Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a memo to league executives Wednesday.
Pellman’s sudden departure comes as the NFL tries to repair the damage done by him and other medical professionals hired by the league who ultimately tried to explain away the dangers of concussions and head trauma.
Nearly 100 former players, including major stars like Ken Stabler and Junior Seau, have been found to have had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head hits.
The work of Pellman and his colleagues eroded trust in the NFL, which has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by retired players and which has been repeatedly grilled by lawmakers who have accused the league of not doing enough to protect its players.
Reached by telephone, Pellman, 62, declined to comment.
Robert Boland, the director of the Sports Administration Program at Ohio University, said: “The NFL has been in a highly defensive posture after the Pellman period, which strained its credibility. It’s bigger than just the concussion issue, but the concussion issue started it.”
Pellman led the influential Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee, which was established in 1994 by Paul Tagliabue, then the commissioner. Pellman was the Jets’ team doctor, and it later came out that he had repeatedly sent players back onto the field despite signs of concussions. But Pellman had close ties to Tagliabue as his personal physician.
As the chairman of the committee, Pellman was instrumental in shaping the NFL’s response to the growing awareness of the dangers of concussions and repeated head blows.
During the past decade, when much of the NFL-sponsored research was discredited and Tagliabue’s successor, Goodell, was forced to testify on Capitol Hill about the league’s handling of brain trauma, the NFL introduced stricter protocols for identifying and treating players with concussions.
The league also began donating millions of dollars to research institutes that were studying the long-term effects of repeated head trauma.
Pellman resigned as chairman of the committee in 2007 but remained a powerful member of the group until 2010, when he and other members of the committee were replaced, under congressional pressure.
Pellman in recent years worked in the league’s headquarters, primarily as an administrator, and appeared at owners’ meetings and other events.
He will remain with the NFL for another couple of months. At the same time, the league has begun a search for a full-time chief medical officer who will work with teams, the NFL Players Association and medical committees. The search will be led by Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel, the league’s chief medical adviser.
The league continues to be criticized by lawmakers for not doing enough to protect players. Citing safety concerns, the players’ union has resisted efforts by team owners to add two regular-season games to the league schedule.
More than 5,000 retired players sued the NFL because they said it deliberately hid from them the dangers of concussions. As part of a broader settlement, the league in 2013 agreed to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to pay players with severe neurological disorders.
The NFL’s reluctance to acknowledge the seriousness of head injuries had a wide effect. The NHL and other professional leagues also have been sued. More broadly, participation rates in youth football leagues have declined as parents have steered their children into soccer and other sports with less contact.
The NFL has taken steps to address concerns over head trauma. It curtailed the number of full-contact practices and made 42 rule changes in the last decade to reduce the chance that players would be involved in some of the most dangerous kinds of collisions. Professionals trained in treating head injuries now roam the sidelines during games.
