Senator Udall No-Comments Query on Investigation of Rigging of Concussion Tests
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May 2, 2011This morning I faxed the following to Senator Tom Udall’s press secretary, Amber McDowell. There has been no response.
Please provide a statement from Senator Udall on whether federal investigations of football helmet safety should be expanded to include investigations of sports concussion testing.
This query is prompted by reports over the past week — on my blog, at FoxSports.com, and elsewhere — that some National Football League players are known to have cheated the “ImPACT” concussion test at both ends: by deliberately doing poorly on baseline testing and by taking Ritalin to artificially elevate alertness post-concussion.
The helmet and concussion-testing questions are linked because Dr. Joseph Maroon both participated in the NFL-funded study used in hype by the Riddell helmet company, and developed and co-owns the ImPACT software, which is marketed to many sports leagues, including youth programs.
Irv Muchnick