Funny when and how this stuff tends to come out, on a sleepy summery week such as this, at perhaps the time when football is the furthest from our collective consciousness. First, the league’s agreeing to end the practice of “race norming” during the claims process for brain injuries, which presupposed that Black players had a lower level of cognitive functioning and, thus, had a more difficult time obtaining settlement money and proving that football caused their cognitive decline. And second, the league’s finally encouraging (through a committee created in consult with the NFLPA) limitations on the usage of Toradol, a painkiller that causes intense side effects but was commonly doled out in locker rooms in an effort to shuffle injured players onto the field each Sunday.
If Roger Goodell Truly Wants to Shape His Legacy, He Could Reckon With the NFL’s Dark Past
