When you’re getting repeatedly knocked down by guys who weigh hundreds of pounds, bad stuff is going to happen no matter how many suits of armor you put on. The NFL has been riding a sea of bad publicity in recent years as concussions pile up on current players and former players claim that the league didn’t do enough to protect them from brain injury.

The latest bad news for the league comes in the form of a lawsuit by 40 former players and some of their poor spouses who are “seeking damages for the painful and debilitating injuries they suffered from repetitive head traumas during their play in National Football League games as well as in practice and training,” according to a press release. The suit claims that the league basically didn’t pay attention to the problem even when players and former players brought it up to them. 

While this isn’t going to hold up most NFL fans from turning on their tube on Sundays this fall, it may give a few kids and their parents pause when their kid is lining his or her walls with posters of NFL players and dreaming of making it to the pros someday.Continue reading...

Just weeks ago, Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson was involved in the hit heard round the league. Carted off the field on a stretcher, Jackson unknowingly launched a sport-wide controversy about brain injuries and protection of football players. The NFL promised to be more vigilant. Players revolted. Bob Costas donned an extra layer of sanctimony.

Now, taking the maxim seriously about an opportunity in every crisis, sporting goods brand Schutt has found an unlikely spokesman: The spectacularly-concussed NFL star DeSean Jackson.Continue reading...