Why Is Athletic Equipment Standards Group Talking in Code About FTC Investigation of NFL’s Riddell Helmets?

[posted 2/7/11 to http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com]


The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) issued a press release on the eve of the Super Bowl, urging “athletes and parents to get the facts about helmets and concussion protection.”

See http://www.nocsae.org/MediaKit/NOCSAE%20Consumer%20Warning%20News%20Release%20FINAL%2002%2004%2011.pdf.

But there’s something big missing in NOCSAE’s alert: it doesn’t mention the Federal Trade Commission investigation of official National Football League supplier Riddell that was launched last month at the behest of Senator Tom Udall.

In this respect, NOCSAE mirrors The New York Times and mainstream media in talking in code about the national concussion crisis. The Times broke the story of the FTC probe last month but I do not believe has made a single reference to it since then.

No outlet, except for this blog, has begun to explore the deeper meaning of a federal investigation based on claims stemming from clinical research funded by industry and the NFL, which also served the for-profit motives of NFL doctors and consultants.

Communicators for news organizations and public-interest groups need to do some more communicatin’.


Irv Muchnick



FURTHER READING

“FTC Investigation Could Be the Super Bowl for Corrupt NFL Doctors and the National Concussion Crisis … today at Beyond Chron,” http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/investigation-could-be-the-super-bowl-for-corrupt-nfl-doctors-and-the-national-concussion-crisis-today-at-beyond-chron/.

“Super Bowl Concussion Hype Week, Part 2: What’s the Deal With the NFL and the Journal Neurosurgery?”, http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/super-bowl-concussion-hype-week-part-2-what%E2%80%99s-the-deal-with-the-nfl-and-the-journal-neurosurgery/.

“Pittsburgh Steelers Physician Joseph Maroon Key Figure in Sports Concussion Probe,” http://wrestlingbabylon.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/pittsburgh-steelers-physician-joseph-maroon-key-figure-in-sports-concussion-probe/.