In 2009, the National Football League changed rules surrounding players and concussions due to studies on brain trauma. The new rules required football players with concussion symptoms to be taken off the field for the rest of the day after a concussion takes place. Prior to the rule change, players would be put back on the field once their concussion symptoms subsided – but longer term studies have shown a higher level of dementia in retired football players possible a result from brain trauma experienced.
Currently, 75 retired NFL players are sueing the NFL due to concealment of evidence regarding long-term effects from head injuries and for the mismanagement of their concussions. The suit has been filed in the Superior Court in LA is seeking an unspecified amount in damages above the jurisidictional minimum of $25,000.
In an Oct. 21 New York Times article discussing brain injuries of NFL players, it was shown that once an individual suffered a concussion, they were far more likely to have additional concussions and to experience problems in the future as a result of their concussions:
"A 2000 study surveyed 1,090 former N.F.L. players and found more than 60 percent had suffered at least one concussion in their careers and 26 percent had had three or more. Those who had had concussions reported more problems with memory, concentration, speech impediments, headaches and other neurological problems than those who had not, the survey found."
