Posted by John Vrooman on Monday, November 28, 2016 in National Football League.

Interview with Charlotte Observer. 

— Do you think concussions are currently hurting the NFL as a business, whether it’s ratings or fan interest? What damage could it do to the business going forward?

Yes, NFL TV ratings are declining due to a complex combination of a variety of factors including media oversaturation of game broadcasts, internal self-governance failures on domestic violence issues and the previously ignored pervasiveness of undetected and falsely diagnosed player concussion syndromes.

The most powerful sports league in the world has apparently out-kicked its own media coverage, and completely ignored the self-inflicted psychological and physical damage being inflicted on its own players.

The adverse impact is directly related to concussions suffered by current and past players in both amateur and professional football. There is also an indirect effect of what many football purists view as arbitrary and ineffective protective rules that are unnecessarily restricting the fundamentally violent nature of the game itself.

The future of the game is also being affected by the early football decisions of perhaps the most powerful forces of nature: the collective self-protective wisdom of soccer moms and dads united.

— What is the impact of big-name stars like Luke Kuechly, Cam Newton or Dale Jr. in NASCAR suffering from concussions? Will it speed up change in sports?

Luke Kuechly is a down-home, old-school born-to-play NFL linebacker who suffered a devastating head injury that potentially shocked not only the Panther nation, but also the rest of the NFL universe.

Cam Newton is a new school born to run and pass Superman whose concussions have defied the obviously inconsistent and ineffective rules ostensibly designed to protect him. 

These two Carolina players span the spectrum from old school defense to new school offense and they both serve as textbook examples of the of the NFL’s failure to pull its head out of (the sand) to deal with a clear and present danger to its own NFL Shield.

This peculiarly American game is inherently violent and apparently life changing in its scope: now more than ever. This is the thin edge that defines the NFL’s unique popularity, but it is also the fine edge that portends its demise.

— Do you think the NFL is doing enough to protect the players that are key to its business model?

No of course not, but they are once again caught in a double bind that has been created by their own lack of self-awareness and self-governance. Now they are only reacting to a fundamental problem inherent in the nature of the game itself with irrational and inconsistent rule changes that treat the syndrome symptoms rather than their cause.

— Any other key business issues I should be considering when it comes to concussions?

The recent $1 billion concussion settlement is not chump change even for this $13 billion league, but it is only the beginning of the direct adverse financial impact on the NFL’s bottom line.