Dr. No Resigns!
Dr. NO!
THIS JUST IN: The NFL’s Dr. No – Dr. Ira Casson – has just resigned along with his co-chair from their MTBI Committee. Following the release of a leaked memo sent out to all the teams, NFL Commissioner made his usual non-statement about making “progress.”
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Chairs of NFL concussion panel resign; Goodell reviewing rules
The Associated Press
A copy of the memo was obtained by The Associated Press before the league issued a press release about its contents.
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Goodell wrote that Dr. Ira Casson and Dr. David Viano, who have led the league committee on concussions since 2007, “have graciously offered to resign from those positions and to continue to assist the committee in its important work. We have accepted those resignations and are currently identifying their replacements.”
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Goodell said he wants to add new members “who will bring to the committee independent sources of expertise and experience in the field of head injuries.”
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Read the rest of the announcement on USA Today – click HERE.
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And this just came in from Bob Ford over at the Philadelphia Inquirer:
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Bob Ford: NFL’s concussion ruling less than meets eye
In its continuing quest to avoid lawsuits in 20 years from a bunch of mumbling guys eating soup through a straw, the NFL is requiring its teams to add independent neurological experts to their medical consulting staffs.
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It’s a nice enough idea, and the league got the word out on Sunday with typical understated modesty, leaking the information to one national-television-network partner and then confirming it during an interview with another. There must not have been any skywriters available.
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The concussion hubbub surrounding the NFL has reached a point where the league had to do something to get Congress off its back, to get people to stop talking about the issue, and to accomplish what the guys down in Legal like to call “liability management.”
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Read the rest of the article from the Philadelphia Inquirer- click HERE.
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And just for the fun of it, here’s his infamous HBO Real Sports No! Interview again:
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Dave Pear
November 25th, 2009 at 12:16 am #
Dear Commissioner Goodell,
Is John Madden one your candidates to replace Dr. No/Dr. Ira Casson?
Regards,
Dave & Heidi Pear
George Visger
November 25th, 2009 at 1:04 pm #
Dear Commissioner Goodell -
I would like to submit my name for the position Dr. No has recently vacated. Though I have had 9 brain surgeries due to injuries sustained while playing in the NFL, I believe I am more than capable of repeating single syllable words under oath.
Would love to discuss THIS with you over a beer sometime.
Oh – I forgot to mention: I also have brain seizures from alcohol. Another little gift from the NFL.
George Visger
San Francisco 49′ers
1980 & 1981
Dave Pear
November 25th, 2009 at 5:18 pm #
Dr. No/Dr. Ira Casson acquiesced to the NFL’s wishes by denying head injuries received from repeated blows to the head caused long-term damages.
Somewhere along the way, Dr. No seems to have forgotten about his Hippocratic oath as a doctor (maybe it was a brain concussion?). This is an oath embodying a code of medical ethics generally taken by all those about to begin medical practice.
We wish that Dr. No would have had the courage to show up in Washington, DC on 10/28/09 and validate his answers of “NO” to head injuries. (Perhaps he was “en-couraged” not to show up?) One can only imagine the additional liability this would have created for the NFL if Dr. No was under oath and he said NO on the record.
Maxine Waters, Linda Sanchez and Gay Culverhouse would have immediately exposed this preposterous hoax that’s being perpetrated against retired players.
Regards,
Dave & Heidi Pear
Ange Coniglio
November 25th, 2009 at 7:49 pm #
Concussions are nothing new. Players of the 1940s, 50s and 60s had concussions as well, but the NFL and the NFLPA make it virtually impossible for them to receive benefits to address the effects of those concussions. Goodell talks about protecting today’s players, but where is the compassion for those who built the foundation for today’s Professional Football? When will USAToday and other media do a hard, in-depth analysis of the horrors retired Professional Football players are subjected to?
My answer? Not while the NFL holds the power to push networks and publishers off the gravy train!
Ange Coniglio
Remember the AFL