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Sept. 18, 2020

NFL concussion lawsuit payouts reveal how racial bias in science continues

Legal complaint highlights how NFL continues to use racial science even as it claims to support racial justice, write Matt Ventresca, Faculty of Arts, and colleague in Conversation Canada
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Rick Mirer (3) is sacked for a seven-yard-loss by Kevin Henry (76) of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter of their NFL game on Dec. 26, 1993.
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Rick Mirer (3) is sacked for a seven-yard-loss by Kevin Henry (76) of t AP Photos/Gary Stewart

The first week of the 2020 National Football League (NFL) season occurred amid a growing聽聽in professional sport. While other athletes聽听补苍诲听, the NFL games included a 鈥溾 against racism. Slogans 鈥溾 and 鈥淚t Takes All of Us鈥澛.

Meanwhile, two former players, Najeh Davenport and Kevin Henry, have accused the NFL of聽聽seeking compensation through the league鈥檚聽. Both men 鈥 who are Black 鈥 allege race-based adjustments to neurocognitive test scores resulted in their ineligibility for dementia-related payments.

  • Co-author of this article with聽听颈蝉听, Australian National University

Having studied聽听补苍诲听听补尘辞苍驳听, we acknowledge this latest criticism is only one of several problems with the league鈥檚 concussion settlement. Davenport and Henry鈥檚 complaint, however, highlights inequalities beyond workplace compensation. It is an example of how racial science continues to harm Black people by upholding racist beliefs about white superiority.

If Black lives matter, science 鈥 like the criminal justice system 鈥 needs to reckon with the fact that its聽聽are not a thing of the past.

NFL concussion settlement

In response to a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 4,500 ex-players in 2012, the NFL agreed to a settlement of聽聽in 2014. The final agreement allowed for up to聽聽in compensation for retired players with serious medical conditions linked to repeated head trauma.

The settlement聽聽for a variety of reasons. It precluded further investigation into the NFL鈥檚 conduct and delivered a relatively small award compared to the league鈥檚 annual revenue.

More problems arose when ex-players began filing claims. Revelations about聽,听听补苍诲听聽came to light.

To date, retired players have received around $720 million for neurocognitive problems, including more than $300 million for dementia. However, more than two-thirds of the approximately 3,000 dementia-related claims have been denied. Davenport and Henry鈥檚 claims raise questions about how racial biases may contribute to the low rate of dementia-related awards.

Scientific discrimination

Davenport and Henry鈥檚 legal complaint describes 鈥渁 discriminatory testing regime鈥 where doctors can apply different baseline standards:

Black former players have been automatically assumed, through a statistical manipulation called 鈥榬ace-norming,鈥 to have started with worse cognitive functioning than white former players.

The use of race-norming in neuropsychology seeks to account for historical trends showing Black people may have lower average scores on cognitive tests than white people. The rationale for creating lower benchmark scores for Black people is to prevent them from being subject to overdiagnosis of cognitive impairment.

Race-norming adjusts for racial biases within the cognitive tests, but聽. The practice glosses over the聽聽and can perpetuate sweeping ideas about inherent differences between racial groups.

In the NFL鈥檚 case, the lower average baseline makes it harder for Black award applicants to demonstrate they have suffered severe cognitive impairment compared to their white counterparts. The complaint emphasizes Davenport and Henry would have qualified for awards had this race-based requirement not been in place.聽, expressing concerns that the assessment process violates equal protection requirements.

Green Bay Packers鈥 Najeh Davenport breaks away from St. Louis Rams鈥 Rich Coady (25) for a 40-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter on Nov. 29, 2004, in Green Bay, Wis.

Green Bay Packers鈥 Najeh Davenport breaks away from St. Louis Rams鈥 Rich Coady (25) for a 40-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter on Nov. 29, 2004, in Green Bay, Wis.

AP Photo/Morry Gash, File

Challenging racial science

The issues in the NFL concussion awards reflect broader concerns around the misuse of race in medicine and science. In early September, a letter published in聽Science聽called on the U.S. National Institutes of Health to聽. The focus on race overlooks how racism interacts with other inequalities.

Environmental, social and structural disparities 鈥 not biological characteristics 鈥 are drivers of poorer health outcomes in Black, Indigenous and other communities of colour. By using the category of race to stand in for cultural, socioeconomic and educational experiences, the NFL鈥檚 baseline for measuring neurocognitive damage is an inaccurate representation of differences between groups of players. It is an instance of 鈥,鈥 which misrepresents how societal conditions affect discrepancies in brain health and function.

The concussion award assessments demonstrate how science can buttress deceptively simple biological explanations and downplay the impact of systemic inequalities.

Why sport matters

Sport has been 鈥 and continues to be 鈥 an influential space in which race-based claims have shaped perceptions of athletes鈥 bodies and their abilities.

Read more:聽

Myths about the biological superiority (and intellectual shortcomings) of Black athletes influence聽,听听补苍诲听. 鈥溾 Black players into different positions than white players is still common in football.

Sport science聽聽misguided beliefs by offering聽聽that seemingly validate cultural stereotypes about racial difference. Davenport and Henry鈥檚 legal complaint highlights how the NFL continues to use racial science even as the league claims to promote support racial justice.

  • Top photo: Seattle Seahawks quarterback Rick Mirer (3) is sacked for a seven-yard-loss by Kevin Henry (76) of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter of their NFL game on Dec. 26, 1993.聽AP Photos/Gary Stewart