Harvard University studied the relationship between NFL teams and their doctors for two years before writing a 493-page report detailing conflicts of interest that put player safety at risk.
The NFL, in turn, essentially threw the report in the trash.
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The study claims to be the first “examining the complicated and often-paradoxical universe of stakeholders that may influence NFL player health.” The report made 76 recommendations to the league on how to better provide care for it’s players without the use of team doctors.
However, Jeffrey Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of health and safety, crafted his own 33-page response, claiming the proposed changes are “untenable and impractical,” The Washington Post reported.
“(The report) cites no evidence that a conflict of interest actually exists,” Miller wrote. “The Report identified no incident in which team physicians were alleged to have ignored the health status of players, failed to adhere to patient confidentiality consent procedures, or made recommendations to clubs that were contrary to the health of players.”
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The report recommends teams employ a doctor only to review “Player Health Reports” crafted by doctors and trainers selected by a neutral committee.
Miller, defending what he called “top of the line” care provided by team doctors, said this would “unnecessarily complicate the patient-physician relationship” and “lead to confusion, errors and ultimately failure ... particularly with respect to complex medical situations.”
Holly Fernandez Lynch, one of the Harvard report’s authors, disagreed with Miller.
“I had expected we’d maybe be quibbling around the margins of how it would actually be implemented,” she said. “I did not expect that we would have to have this conversation about whether there is, in fact, a conflict because it’s so obvious on its face.”