NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote Wednesday in a letter to club executives that the league will replace longtime medical adviser Elliot Pellman with a new full-time chief medical officer. Technically Pellman, who was portrayed by Paul Reiser in the movie Concussion, is retiring. However, it was the commissioner’s decision that ultimately caused Pellman to retire, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Roger Goodell notified all 32 teams that longtime NFL administrator/physician Elliot Pellman is retiring; Goodell decision, Pellman agreed.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 20, 2016
The controversial doctor, who is a rheumatologist, is retiring after a 30-year career with the NFL. He also served as team doctor for the New York Jets and as chairman of the NFL’s Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee.
But what took Goodell and the NFL so long to force out Pellman? Why was he the chairman of the NFL’s Mild Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee?
Roger Goodell and the NFL Forced Dr. Elliot Pellman to Retire, But it Took Too Long
The Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee of which Pellman was the chairman, repeatedly denied the link between football, concussions and long-term brain damage. It is unbelievable that any committee or person could have that stance. Of course repeatedly getting hit in the head in the manner in which football players do is going to cause head trauma. The NFL’s position, which they have held for far too long, is that there is no direct correlation between football and brain trauma. That stance is beyond ridiculous.
The idea that football causes head issues has probably existed for decades, even if the NFL has never wanted to admit it. The correlation between football and brain trauma has been in the minds of the general public since at least 1999, when the movie Varsity Blues was released. In the Brian Robbins directed film offensive lineman Billy Bob (played by the late Ron Lester) sustains a nasty hit to his head in a game. Billy Bob is checked out by the school’s nurse. Despite suffering after effects from the hit; coach Kilmer (Jon Voight) forces him back into action the very next game. During that game the offensive lineman succumbs to the issues he had been experiencing and collapses on the field.
Again, that movie came out in 1999! How has the NFL and Dr. Pellman continued to take the stance that football does not cause head injuries?
Chair of the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee?
The second issue is that Dr. Pellman is a rheumatologist. A rheumatologist’s job is to diagnose and treat musculoskeletal disease and systemic autoimmune conditions commonly referred to as rheumatic diseases. If NFL players were suffering from gout, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus, then a rheumatologist would be right doctor to see. But why would a doctor who does not specialize in the brain chair a traumatic brain injury committee? It makes absolutely no sense. Dr. Pellman, according to ESPN’s Outside the Lines, actually tried to discredit the findings of noted scientists who studied the effects of concussions.
Dr. Pellman may very well be a good rheumatologist, but having him serve as chairman of a traumatic brain injury committee when he lacked both experience and expertise in that area is something that should never have happened. One can applaud Goodell and the NFL for rectifying this issue, but it took way too long to happen.
Main Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images
