PHILADELPHIA — The NFL proposed changes to the $1 billion concussion settlement on Wednesday after an outcry over test score adjustments known as „race-norming,“ …
PHILADELPHIA — The NFL proposed changes to the $1 billion concussion settlement on Wednesday after an outcry over test score adjustments known as „race-norming,“ which make it harder for retired Black players to win dementia awards that average $500,000 or more. The new testing formula, developed during months of closed-door negotiations with players‘ lawyers, will remain secret until a federal judge reviews it. That means the 1,435 NFL retirees whose dementia claims have been denied, many or most of them Black, won’t immediately know how the changes could affect them. They also won’t know if their prior tests will simply be rescored, or if they must endure another grueling round of cognitive testing. „The NFL should be really enraged about the race norming….. That should be unacceptable to them and all of their sponsors,“ said Roxanne „Roxy“ Gordon, whose husband, a Stanford University graduate, finds himself at 40 unable to work. Amon Gordon has twice qualified for an advanced dementia award only to have the decision overturned for reasons that aren’t yet clear to them. His case remains on review before the federal appeals court in Philadelphia. The NFL had agreed in June to halt the use of „race-norming,“ which assumes Black players start with lower cognitive function.
