Annotated Bibliography

Cummings, andr douglas pond, Junior Seau, Head Trauma, and the NFL's Concussion
Problem (April 20, 2013). University of Mississippi Sports Law Review, Forthcoming.
Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2254354
The author at Indiana Tech Law School looked into and examined the suicide of Tiaina Junior
Seau and how his career of playing professional football inevitably impacted the development of
his brain that lead to his death. The author finds his thesis supported by other professional
football players showing the same signs, as well as the findings produced by Dr. Julian Bailes at
Virginia University and Dr. Ann McKee at Boston University. The article finishes off by putting
forward critical questions about the impacts of repeated head trauma, and what the NFL should
be responsible and liable for.
Goldberg, Daniel, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, the US National Football League, and the
Manufacture of Doubt: An Ethical, Legal, and Historical Analysis (June 12, 2012).
Journal of Legal Medicine 34, No. 2 (2013): 157-191. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/
abstract=2293117
This article analyzes the conduct by the NFL in regards to the the risks that the players face
when having experienced concussions and the long-term brain damage that can come as a
result. It also critically looks at concussions and the impacts that it has on the overall population
of the publics health and safety. The paper then argues that when it comes to producing
successful future guidelines and approaches to dealing with concussions, it is necessary to look
at the past in order to have future success.
Lipsky, Bryan, Dealing with the NFL's Concussion Problems of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
(March 12, 2008). Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal,
Vol. 18 (2008). Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2290009
In this article, Lipsky talks about how when it comes to concussion-related issues for the NFL,
there are four guidelines and approaches that are necessary to make sure that it is within the
best interest of the player. It also goes through the four points that the athlete must prove in
order for the NFL to be at fault and accountable for the injuries sustained. With having these
four points necessary for the claim to go through, the NFL then decided that the best way for
them to be able to keep players in the game, was for them to hire their own doctor that could
okay a player way before it might be medically safe for the player to return to the field.

Smith, Rodney K., Solving the Concussion Problem and Saving Professional Football. Thomas
Jefferson Law Review, Vol. 35, No. 2, p. 127, 2013; Thomas Jefferson School of Law
Research Paper No. 2369671. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2369671
In this article, Smith addresses that in 1903 before the NFL existed, college football, was
the top of the line and was referred to as mayhem and homicide. After eighteen college
football players lost their lives in 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt intervened and asked
college leaders to attend a White House Conference to curb the violence by promulgating safety
rules. New safety rules were adopted, however In 2012, concerns and calls for further research
gained a new and well known face when Junior Seau committed suicide. His brain was then

donated to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) of the NIH to be
studied and assessed as to whether Seau had suffered major brain trauma. Smith says that
head injuries experienced by present and former players is quite serious.
Three and Out: The NFLs Concussion Liability and How Players Can Tackle the Problem.
(2011-2012). VANDERBILT J. OF ENT. AND TECH. LAW, 14(3), 649th ser. Retrieved
February 26, 2016, from http://nflconcussionlitigation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/
Gove.pdf
The article talks about how in 1952, the New England Journal of Medicine published a
study that very plainly stated the number of concussions a player can sustain before being no
longer able to play professional football maxes out at three concussions. Over the years the
number has fluctuated due to the progressions and improvements of the players, but there is
still a number. When the original study came out however, the NFL was very quick to try and
discredit the sources and authors involved in the study despite the public outrage. Instead, the
NFL put together their own committee to look into the findings/ produce their own which they
found were the complete opposite of the 1952 study. Further to the point though, the NFL did
come up with some of the policies that are still in effect today, for example the return-to-play
guidelines and other player safety rules.

Werts, J. (2012). RINGING THE BELL ON CONCUSSIONS: THE RISE OF HEAD INJURIES
AND COGNITIVE DECLINE IN FOOTBALL PLAYERS, AND THE NFL'S OBLIGATION
TO IMPROVE SAFETY MEASURES. Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal,
11(173). Retrieved February 26, 2016, from http://www.cplpej.org/wp-content/uploads/
2015/08/Werts-Jarryd.pdf
http://www.cplpej.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Werts-Jarryd.pdf