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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Football and the Cost of Concussions

    As a long weekend full of football gets under way, the National Football League is on the defensive over the long-term effects of concussions. There's increasing evidence that multiple head-pounding produces brain disease akin to Alzheimer's, but official recognition has been a long-time coming.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    As a long weekend full of football gets under way, the National Football League is on the defensive over the long-term effects of concussions. There's increasing evidence that multiple head-pounding produces brain disease akin to Alzheimer's, but official recognition has been a long-time coming. Yesterday, the co-chairs of the NFL's committee on brain injuries resigned and some new rules were instituted. As of this weekend, independent neurologists will advise team doctors, coaches and players on how soon, if ever, players who've been knocked silly can return to the game. Has the NFL been in a state of denial? What's the message for college football and parents whose kids play football in high school?

    The full episode

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    Football and the Cost of Concussions
    1. 0:00President Obama Goes to Copenhagen
    2. 7:20Football and the Cost of ConcussionsYou’re reading this
    3. 44:46Helping the Hungry, beyond Thanksgiving Day
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      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Katie Cooper

      Producer, 'One year Later'

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

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      Frances Anderton

      architecture critic and author

    • KCRW placeholder

      Alan Schwarz

      New York Times

    • KCRW placeholder

      Robert Stern

      Co-Director, Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy

    • KCRW placeholder

      Andrew Kline

      former player for the St. Louis Rams

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Football and the Cost of Concussions
    1. 0:00President Obama Goes to Copenhagen
    2. 7:20Football and the Cost of ConcussionsYou’re reading this
    3. 44:46Helping the Hungry, beyond Thanksgiving Day
    Back to To the Point