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Among the revelations of Frontline�s League of Denial, broadcast on PBS recently, were these:

• In 1994, then-Commissioner Paul Tagliabue created the NFL�s Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee and named Elliott Pellman, a rheumatologist who had no experience with brain trauma, to head the committee. The Committee subsequently published 16 papers diminishing, even dismissing the link between the game and long-lasting brain issues.
• In 1994, Tagliabue claimed the concussion issue was �one of these pack journalism issues, frankly.�
• In 1994, Dr. Pellman described concussions as �part of the profession, an occupational risk.�

Nineteen ninety-four � nearly 20 years ago.

Think about that.

In 1994, Tom McHale was entering the eighth year of his nine-year NFL career. He played 13 of the 16 games that season for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Fourteen years later, on May 25, 2008, Tom McHale would die of an accidental drug overdose at age 45. In January 2009, he would become the sixth former National Football League player to be posthumously diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E.), a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by repetitive brain trauma.

Maybe the damage to Tom�s brain had been done by 1994. Maybe research wouldn�t have reversed the downward spiral Tom endured in his last few years. Just maybe Tom�s widow Lisa and his three sons � and Tom himself � might have found some comfort, some peace of mind, even some help, knowing that the depression and drug dependency Tom experienced had C.T.E. at its root.

They � and we � will never know.

Here�s one more revelation from Frontline�s League of Denial:

• In 1999, the NFL Retirement Board determined that Mike Webster was �totally and permanently� disabled as �the result of head injuries he suffered as a football player.� Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada, authors of the just-released book, League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth, recently uncovered the ruling, which had never been made public.

Nineteen ninety-nine � 14 years ago.

To date, 45 of the 46 NFL players� brains examined by Dr. Ann McKee have had C.T.E. Other players� brains � including that of Chris Henry, the 26-year-old Cincinnati Bengal who was the first active player to be diagnosed with C.T.E. � have been examined and C.T.E. has been diagnosed at West Virginia University�s Brain Injury Research Center, the National Institutes of Health and other institutions.

As I look back over my career of nearly 40 years as a player and a coach in the NFL, I remember many � teammates, opponents, peers, even players I coached, like Tom McHale � who developed neurological ailments that we now know are linked to repetitive hits to the head. And I can�t help but wonder how many of those lives might have been made better, perhaps even been saved, if the Mild Tramautic Brain Injury Committee had done its job in 1994, or if the 1999 NFL Retirement Board ruling had been made public. How many might not have suffered if a well-qualified neurologist had been named to hear the Mild Tramautic Brain Injury Committee instead of a rheumatologist? How quickly might we have learned that the term �Mild Traumatic Brain Injury� is an oxymoron?

One more question: �How many more lives will be diminished or lost?�

Maxie Baughan
Fourth & Goal Board of Directors
Philadelphia Eagles, 1960-1965
Los Angeles Rams, 1966-1970
Washington Redskins, 1971, 1974
Assistant Coach, Georgia Tech, 1972-1973
Defensive Coordinator, Baltimore Colts, 1975-1979
Defensive Coordinator, Detroit Lions, 1980-1982
Head Football Coach, Cornell University, 1983-1988
Linebackers Coach, Minnesota Vikings, 1990-1993
Linebackers Coach, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1994-1995
Linebackers Coach, Baltimore Ravens, 1996-1998

Maxie Baughan on Tom McHale