Roundup of Coverage of Pittsburgh Steelers / NFL / WWE Doc Joseph Maroon’s Misstatements and Ethical Shortcuts on Concussion Research

On the eve of the National Football League conference championship game involving the Pittsburgh Steelers, here are links to all the posts here, dating back more than a year, on Dr. Joseph Maroon – the Steelers’ neurosurgeon, a leading NFL adviser on traumatic brain injury, and the medical director of World Wrestling Entertainment.

Maroon is most prominently in the news these days due to a Federal Trade Commission investigation of the promotional claims of Riddell, the official helmet supplier for the NFL. Riddell states that its latest helmet model, the Revolution, reduces concussions by 31 percent. The figure is derived from a 2006 article in the journal Neurosurgery. Two of the co-authors of the article are Maroon and Riddell’s chief engineer. The research underpinning the Neurosurgery article was conducted by a team including Maroon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and funded by a grant from NFL Charities.

To The New York Times, which broke the story of Senator Tom Udall’s call for an FTC probe of Riddell, Maroon has distanced himself from the company’s exploitation of the Pittsburgh study.

I have emailed Maroon numerous times over a period of months on the variety of issues in the stories below. He has not responded.

Irv Muchnick

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EXCLUSIVE: Linda McMahon’s WWE Medical Director Met With Chris Benoit Brain Experts in 2008

(12/14/09)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/exclusive-linda-mcmahons-wwe-medical-director-met-with-chris-benoit-brain-experts-in-2008/

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Umaga Autopsy Turns Focus to Linda McMahon’s WWE Cardio Program and Docs

(3/30/10)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/umaga-autopsy-turns-focus-to-linda-mcmahon%E2%80%99s-wwe-cardio-program-and-docs/

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NFL Explains: Maroon Still on Committee, Only Concussion ‘Leadership’ Has Changed

(7/7/10)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/nfl-explains-maroon-still-on-committee-only-concussion-leadership-has-changed/

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Treatment of WWE Performer Charlie Haas Is a Study of Linda McMahon’s Character

(8/18/10)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/treatment-of-wwe-performer-charlie-haas-is-a-study-of-linda-mcmahons-character/

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More on the 2008 Meeting of Linda McMahon’s WWE Medical Director at the West Virginia Brain Institute

(9/9/10)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/more-on-the-2008-meeting-of-linda-mcmahon%E2%80%99s-wwe-medical-director-at-the-west-virginia-brain-institute/

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Wrestling Journalist Meltzer: WWE Medical Director’s Quote Is ‘Mind-Boggling’

(10/14/10)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/wrestling-journalist-meltzer-wwe-medical-directors-quote-is-mind-boggling/

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WWE Medical Director ‘Dishonest,’ Say 76% in Wrestling Observer Reader Poll

(10/16/10)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/10/16/wwe-medical-director-dishonest-say-76-in-wrestling-observer-fan-poll/

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‘Concussion Issue Reaches Critical Mass in American Culture and Politics’ (full text)

(11/20/10)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/11/20/concussion-issue-reaches-critical-mass-in-american-culture-and-politics-full-text/

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Knocking Heads Together: WWE Is the Next Frontier of Sports Concussion Reform

(12/21/10)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/knocking-heads-together-wwe-is-the-next-frontier-of-sport-concussion-reform/

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Pitt Med Center Doctors’ Supplement Company and WWE Ties Skirt Ethics Policy

(1/4/11)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/pitt-med-center-doctors-supplement-company-and-wwe-ties-skirt-ethics-policy/

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Dr. Joseph Maroon’s Disturbing Pattern of Misstatements

(1/5/11)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/dr-joseph-maroons-disturbing-pattern-of-misstatements/

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Dear Senator Udall: Help Coordinate Concussion and Steroid Investigations

(1/5/11)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/dear-senator-udall-help-coordinate-concussion-and-steroid-investigations/

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Steelers’ Wheel: Pittsburgh Media Are Mum on the Connections of Pitt Med Center, Pittsburgh Steelers, and WWE Scandals

(1/7/11)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/steelers%E2%80%99-wheel-pittsburgh-media-are-mum-on-the-connections-of-pitt-med-center-pittsburgh-steelers-and-wwe-scandals/

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More Questions About WWE Medical Director Joseph Maroon

(1/12/11)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/more-questions-about-wwe-medical-director-joseph-maroon/

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Why Didn’t NFL and WWE’s Dr. Maroon Speak Up About the Riddell Helmet Advertising Claims?

(1/13/11)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/why-didn%E2%80%99t-nfl-and-wwe%E2%80%99s-dr-maroon-speak-up-about-the-riddell-helmet-advertising-claims/

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‘Joseph Maroon, Doctor for NFL and WWE, Has It Every Which Way on Concussions’ (full text from Beyond Chron)

(1/14/11)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/%E2%80%98joseph-maroon-doctor-for-nfl-and-wwe-has-it-every-which-way-on-concussions%E2%80%99-full-text-from-beyond-chron/

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NFL Bans Coaches From Relationships With Supplement Companies. But NFL and WWE Doctor Joseph Maroon? Ka-Ching!

(1/20/11)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/nfl-bans-coaches-from-relationships-with-supplement-companies-but-nfl-and-wwe-doctor-joseph-maroon-ka-ching/

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NFL: Dr. Maroon’s Supplement Work OK Because He’s Not League or Club ‘Employee’

(1/20/11)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/nfl-dr-maroon%E2%80%99s-supplement-work-ok-because-he%E2%80%99s-not-league-or-club-%E2%80%98employee%E2%80%99/

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ESPN’s Peter Keating Was First to Expose NFL and WWE Concussion Doc Joseph Maroon’s Conflicts of Interest

(1/21/11)

http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/espn%E2%80%99s-peter-keating-was-first-to-expose-nfl-and-wwe-concussion-doc-joseph-maroon%E2%80%99s-conflicts-of-interest/