Congress Asks NFL Why It Tried to Disrupt CTE Research

(NEW YORK) — Members of Congress are inquiring why the NFL tried to intervene in the selection of a researcher from Boston University to lead a study on the possible link between football and brain disease, according to a letter obtained by ESPN.

The letter was sent Wednesday to NFL commisioner Roger Goodell, and it includes information showing how the NFL tried to stop the selection of longtime critic Dr. Robert Stern, and replace him with researchers that are affiliated with the NFL, according to ESPN.

“Efforts by outside entities to … exercise influence over the selection of NIH research applicants are troubling, and we are committed to a full understanding of the sequence of events that led to this dispute,” the legislators wrote in the letter. ESPN says the letter was signed by Reps. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J.; Gene Green, D-Texas; Diana DeGette, D-Colo.; and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The investigation started after a report done by ESPN’s Outside the Lines in December. The report shows how the NFL suddenly refused to fund the study, which looks to find new methods in diagnosing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in living patients.

A spokesman for the NFL told ESPN’s Outside the Lines Thursday that “Goodell will respond to the committee’s letter.”

According to ESPN, the NFL issued a response to a recent New York Times article about how the NFL handles concussion data. In the respons, the league said, “We have committed tens of millions of dollars to fund independent research” and that the league has an “ongoing commitment on the issue of player health and safety–notably, to the support of research including that of our most vocal critics.”