Did the NFL cover up what they knew? Is football causing early dementia?

Mark Fainaru-Wada is an award-winning investigative reporter & journalist with ESPN. He’s also the co- author of League of Denial, the book co-written with his brother, that inspired the Frontline documentary by the same name.

In this episode, you’ll hear how the discovery of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy – CTE – sparked investigations & research & denial. Mark unpacks our culture comfort with violence, the danger of blaming everything on CTE & what it took get the NFL to address concussion injury concerns.

If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 204: ARE LOW FAT DIETS HEALTHY? HEART HEALTH & HECKLERS [REMASTERED]

 
 Guest:

https://a.co/d/0iybv8zh

https://youtu.be/SedClkAnclk?si=uAp4KvLWOCSKqGe3

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01:22 — Has interest in CTE faded since the documentary?

01:38 — The story that launched the investigation

02:37 — Minimization or an actual cover-up?

04:32 — What CTE actually looks like in real life

05:00 — The hidden danger: repetitive hits

07:50 — Why football is harder to confront than smoking

08:43 — Our cultural comfort with violence

11:23 — The difference between TV and the sideline

12:30 — Frequency vs intensity of brain trauma

13:28 — The high percentage of CTE in former players

14:05 — Could anything else cause CTE?

15:02 — When the NFL finally acknowledged the link

16:05 — The lawsuits and congressional pressure

16:33 — Why ESPN supported the investigation

19:12 — “There is no Santa”: confronting fan identity

19:49 — How fans rationalize uncomfortable facts

21:12 — Why some people still call CTE bad science

22:21 — Financial incentives behind the doubt

22:53 — The religious undertones of football culture

23:23 — The gladiator appeal of football players

24:34 — Why football feels mythic in America

25:41 — Why youth football is a separate debate

26:11 — The question every parent asks

27:05 — Why more kids are switching to flag football

27:38 — The NFL’s marketing push toward moms

29:52 — When is tackle football “safe”?

31:26 — New rules to limit head impacts

33:11 — When marketing meets safety messaging

33:44 — Why football can’t admit its core problem

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