NFL: No Comment on Senator Udall’s Call for FTC Investigation of Riddell Helmet Claims from Dr. Maroon Research
Support Wrestler Mick Foley’s Work With ChildFund International in Sierra Leone
January 13, 2011‘Joseph Maroon, Doctor for NFL and WWE, Has It Every Which Way on Concussions’ (full text from Beyond Chron)
January 14, 2011Yesterday I emailed both Dr. Joseph Maroon (National Football League and World Wrestling Entertainment consultant) and NFL spokesman Greg Aiello for comment on Senator Tom Udall’s request to the Federal Trade Commission for a probe of the Riddell company’s promotion of its Revolution football helmet.
Today I followed up with Aiello. In addition to reiterating my question about whether the NFL had ever expressed disapproval to Riddell of the way its NFL Charities-funded research, co-conducted by Dr. Maroon, was being exploited commercially, I asked Aiello if the league had any statement on the Riddell matter.
Aiello emailed back that there would be no response. “You should contact Riddell,” he wrote.
I find extraordinary the NFL’s complete silence on a New York Times front-page story.
On the credit side, the league just launched a new website, http://nflhealthandsafety.com, which is a decent (if guarded) information clearinghouse. The news section even links to the Times article — potentially one of the most important sports industry stories of the year, but one on which the NFL has no comment.
Irv Muchnick