The co-chairman of the NFL's committee on brain injuries, Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, was one of the league's "primary advocates" opposing Stern, even though Ellenbogen had applied for the same grant and stood to benefit personally. Ellenbogen previously denied to Outside the Lines that he tried to influence the NIH, but the report sharply criticizes his actions. The NFL was warned that taxpayers would have to bear the cost of the $16 million study and that the NIH would be "unable to fund other meritorious research for several years" if the league backed out. The NFL offered a last-minute, $2 million payment after an intermediary suggested a partial contribution would "help dampen criticism." The NIH turned down the offer. Even after an NIH review panel upheld the award to Stern, the NFL sought to funnel the $16 million to another project that would involve members of the league's brain injury committee. The plan would have allowed the NFL researchers to avoid the NIH's rigorous peer-review process. NIH Director Francis Collins rejected the idea.
Indeed!The report actually does criticize the NIH some, mostly for being too willing to engage with and discuss the NFL's concerns. This is most likely due to the sizable grant the NFL promised, which is a good argument for not having ever taken it in the first place. $16 million is a lot of fucking money and even if it is supposed to be no-strings-attached, both sides of the table recognized there are always going to be strings. After the NFL backed out, the cost was passed on to taxpayers, but maybe it should have been paid for by the public in the first place. There are too many competing interests when private entities get involved to sponsor research. Of course the NFL has an agenda in downplaying head injuries. Of course they don't want to pay for a study that shows the deleterious effects of their whole operation. Don't take their money. Don't pay attention to any of their studies. Don't listen to the hired goons at the NFL's Head, Neck and Spine Committee.Meanwhile, with all of this going on in the background, here is NFL reporter Adam Schefter, on what everyone is actually talking about in the pro football these days."Dr. Ellenbogen is a primary example of the conflicts of interest between his role as a researcher and his role as an NFL adviser," the report states. "He had been part of a group that applied for the $16 million grant. After his group was not selected, Dr. Ellenbogen became one of the NFL's primary advocates in expressing concerns surrounding the process with the BU grant selection. … This series of events raises significant questions about Dr. Ellenbogen's own bias."
[ESPN]As of today, Deflategate is 491 days old. It has lasted nearly 7 times longer than Kim Kardashian's marriage to the Hawks' Kris Humphries.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 23, 2016