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Obama: Danger of concussions in NFL ‘no longer a secret’
The Hill ^

Posted on 01/19/2014 7:36:54 AM PST by Sub-Driver

January 19, 2014, 10:10 am Obama: Danger of concussions in NFL ‘no longer a secret’

By Justin Sink

President Obama said that he believed NFL players “know what they’re doing” and understood the impact that concussions could have on their long-term health in an interview with The New Yorker published on Sunday, adding that he would not let his son play pro football.

“At this point, there’s a little bit of caveat emptor,” Obama said. “These guys, they know what they’re doing. They know what they’re buying into. It is no longer a secret. It’s sort of the feeling I have about smokers, you know?”

In August, the NFL agreed to a $765 million settlement in a lawsuit brought against the league by former players. The league did not admit any liability or that brain injuries were the result of playing football, but the money will be split among former players and medical researchers. A federal judge has not yet approved the deal.

Existing research has shown that repeated concussions can be associated with memory loss and behavioral changes. They’re also linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative brain disease.

The president made the comments while speaking aboard Air Force One with David Remnick, the magazine’s editor and a former sportswriter for The Washington Post.

Obama said that while the risks were understood, if he had a son, he would not allow him to play professional football.

“I would not let my son play pro football,” he said. “But, I mean, you wrote a lot about boxing, right? We’re sort of in the same realm.”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: athletes; brain; davidremnick; football; newyorker; nfl; obama; pittsburghsteelers
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Shhhhh.........
1 posted on 01/19/2014 7:36:54 AM PST by Sub-Driver
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To: Sub-Driver

Which version of Husseincare covers that?


2 posted on 01/19/2014 7:39:46 AM PST by Libloather (Embrace the suck)
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To: Sub-Driver

I thought his son was dead.


3 posted on 01/19/2014 7:40:08 AM PST by ImJustAnotherOkie (zerogottago)
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To: Sub-Driver

Is there any topic Dear Leader does feel compelled to pontificate on?


4 posted on 01/19/2014 7:40:59 AM PST by 5thGenTexan
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To: Sub-Driver

Obama has a son?


5 posted on 01/19/2014 7:41:08 AM PST by Opinionated Blowhard ("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")
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To: Sub-Driver

I’ve seen interviews with NFL players and I can guarantee that the brain damage they suffer from was caused by a public school education.


6 posted on 01/19/2014 7:41:55 AM PST by P-Marlowe (There can be no Victory without a fight and no battle without wounds)
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To: 5thGenTexan
Is there any topic Dear Leader does not feel compelled to pontificate on?
7 posted on 01/19/2014 7:42:45 AM PST by 5thGenTexan
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To: Sub-Driver

Always been punch drunk boxers. Always been punch drunk tackles. No one told them to play football. Don’t be a crybaby after the fact. You’ve been warned. Either play or let some else take your place.

Zer0s involvement in this is just one more step to realize his dream of the pussification of America.


8 posted on 01/19/2014 7:43:16 AM PST by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: Sub-Driver

But he would allow his son to dress up like a thug.


9 posted on 01/19/2014 7:44:12 AM PST by willk
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To: Sub-Driver

Let’s talk about killing babies....


10 posted on 01/19/2014 7:44:49 AM PST by Sacajaweau
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To: Sub-Driver

Just the idea that O wouldn’t let an adult Trayvon play pro-football if he wanted to is laughable. He thinks he controls everything and that which he doesn’t control is high on his “list.”


11 posted on 01/19/2014 7:45:06 AM PST by NTegraT (Deep in the Heart of Texas)
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To: Vaquero

Same as today’s volunteer military, or those that desire employment as police officers. There are no victims only volunteers.


12 posted on 01/19/2014 7:46:41 AM PST by Rodamala
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To: Sub-Driver

Too bad Obama didn’t lie his way thru medical school. He might be slightly more believable.


13 posted on 01/19/2014 7:46:43 AM PST by Slyfox (We want our pre-existing HEALTH INSURANCE back!)
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To: Opinionated Blowhard

remember that little 12 year old Skittle-eating football player son of his that was ruthlessly gunned down by Tony Montana ?


14 posted on 01/19/2014 7:46:54 AM PST by digger48
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To: P-Marlowe

...and a sports worshipping society that demands the education system not hold them to even the standard of the other students because they are athletes, and the team needs them.


15 posted on 01/19/2014 7:48:18 AM PST by 5thGenTexan
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To: Sub-Driver

Is he the commissioner of all sports and entertainment, the prince of blacks or president?


16 posted on 01/19/2014 7:48:38 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet (Jealousy is when you count someone else's blessings instead of your own.)
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To: ImJustAnotherOkie; Sub-Driver

“I thought his son was dead.”

There are many who look like his ‘son’ Travon out there, and many are playing in the NFL...some others are playing the ‘Knockout Game’...


17 posted on 01/19/2014 7:48:55 AM PST by GGpaX4DumpedTea (I am a Tea Party descendant...steeped in the Constitutional Republic given to us by the Founders)
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To: Sub-Driver

That’s the way, Mr President. Show up late to a discussion, pick a topic way out of your responsibilities, clear your throat and speak authoritatively on it. All that is needed is tall-hatted army generals with little notebooks soberly writing down what you say.


18 posted on 01/19/2014 7:50:29 AM PST by lurk
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To: Sub-Driver
What about concussions from the 'knock out game'?

When will dear leader comment on that?

19 posted on 01/19/2014 7:51:15 AM PST by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
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To: P-Marlowe

Post of the Day!


20 posted on 01/19/2014 7:51:25 AM PST by GGpaX4DumpedTea (I am a Tea Party descendant...steeped in the Constitutional Republic given to us by the Founders)
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