Kavitha A. Davidson, Columnist

NFL's Best Defense Is Kind of Offensive

The league acknowledges brain risk. Then it tries to avoid the obvious conversation.

March 17, 2016 at 6:08 PM UTC

By Kavitha A. Davidson

Kavitha A. Davidson is a former Bloomberg View columnist.

No one wonders why Jermichael Finley retired young.
Photographer: Mike McGinnis/Getty Images

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For the first time ever, the National Football League has explicitly admitted there is a link between football-related brain trauma and the degenerative disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. It's a stunning shift in strategy. The first question is: Why now?

During a roundtable discussion with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Monday, Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois asked Jeff Miller, the NFL's senior vice president for health and safety, if "there is a link between football and degenerative brain disorders like CTE." "The answer to that is certainly, yes," Miller answered. League spokesman Brian McCarthy later affirmed, "The comments made by Jeff Miller yesterday accurately reflect the view of the NFL."