Just In Case You Forgot The NFL Is Evil, They Use Race Science
In a report that was actually quite contrary to how I presented it above, the Associated Press quietly released a notice that the NFL probably hoped would fly under your radar. They are stopping the use of “race-norming” in evaluating claims from players in regards to the concussion settlement. At first glance, good! They are stopping a racist practice. If you are anything like me, maybe you sighed at first but were pleased to see it happened. Then, after a brief moment of consideration, or a further reading of the report…you suddenly realized the magnitude of what you just read and how fucked up it is.
This might not be the first you’ve heard about this. Upon reflection last year I remember seeing some small reports and rumors about something like this. At the time, it was another example in a long line of examples in the raging discussion about systemic racism. I saw it in the context of how black people frequently face doctors not taking them as seriously as they take white patients. Black players were having more difficulty getting heard by the NFL, because of course they were. Systemic racism is awful. Now with this report dropping, it doesn’t even feel like systemic racism, it just feels like straight-up vintage straightforward racism. Systemic racism largely feels like the result of unconscious bias. At least in most people. Most people don’t set out to deliberately discriminate or see themselves as racist, even when they are subconsciously being racist or discriminatory and a huge amount of people have had to reckon with their own internal biases and how they’ve contributed to the problem, myself included. Plenty more have chosen to put their heads in the sand and sing la la la la but in this case, I think a healthy number of those people should be able to look at what the NFL was doing here and see how fucking racist it is.
The NFL was using race-norming to deny black players claims in the consussion settlement. They were using it to say black players started at a lower level of cognitive function, so they can’t see the detrimental effects of concussions and their claims were being rejected. Like, holy shit. Denying players by using the assumption that they were already dumber than regular (white) people. Fucking yikes.
Race norming isn’t just a policy isolated to this specific thing, it’s disgustingly still widespread and used in a lot of ways, so what makes this even worse is the knowledge that while the NFL may be stopping it for this case, they are still likely doing it elseware for other things. Draft evaluation and the wonderlic spring to mind. If the NFL was willing to deny players this easily using an exceptionally racist practice in 2021 for the concussion settlement, just imagine what sort of shit we don’t know about. Makes me feel gross. Using bullshit race science to deny giving black players money for the harm their institution generates.
Anyway it honestly had been a while since something evil the NFL does came out, sometimes we need those reminders lest we get complacent with our overlords. Have a great weekend!
This is not a defence. I am not defending what the NFL did. That is indefencible. However, I will say that this is an example of how systemic racism propagates and breeds further racism. The NFL has a test they use for measuring cognitive aptitude, the wonderlic. It is of course flawed, as it only correlates with a few aspects of cognition and is affected by other factors as much or probably more. So when you have a group that performs worse, the flawed assumptions and systemic racism breeds the racist view that this group must have lower cognitive ability rather than looking further into why that is
Neurocognitive function tests aren’t intelligence tests. The Wonderlic is racially biased, but the NFL is talking about a different test that is also racially biased. It’s a more comprehensive version of the standard “Who are you/Where are you/What day is it/Who’s the president” neuro check most people think of when they think of a concussion test.
The issue is that the actuarial tables they were using to measure cognitive function basically said “If person of demographic X scores a 75 on the neurocognitive test, they have a baseline score of 100, but if person of demographic Y scores a 75 on the neurocognitive test, they have a baseline score of 75.” The end result is that if those same two people later took the test to measure if they had any cognition problems after playing, if they both had the same normalized score on the retest, person X would qualify for more benefits than person Y even though they had the same baseline.
Of course YOU’d say that, you have the brainpan of stagecoach tilter!
?
It’s a Simpsons reference to Phrenology, an outdated pseudo-science that thought you could tell personality traits by the shape and size of the skull. Mr. Burns, a character who uses constantly out of date references told his assistant that he had the brainpan of a stagecoach tilter after Smithers told him that Phrenology was considered quackery.
For the uninitiated, phrenology was dismissed as quackery 160 years ago. If only Mr. Burns had gotten the memo…
I mean even Antonio Brown finally did…for now.
At least his Confederated Slave Holdings are remaining steady.
Honestly these recent reports were the first time I had heard of this and my reaction was this comic to a T. I was shocked I had not heard about this and that the NFL was not being sued left and right. Another part of me was like the NFL loses a law suit and then is trying to find a way to exclude 80% of their players from accessing the funds.
What’s with the dude on the right not seeming horrified?
But yeah this is a really bad look for the NFL.
Cuz the black guy is a lot less likely to be surprised by systemic racism
That is an appropriately nuanced take, nicely done.
the look says two things
1. “i didn’t know about this specific way we were getting screwed but it sounds like something that would happen”
2. “can’t believe the rest of you are surprised by this”
I can’t believe anyone is surprised about the NFL doing bad things at this point. We could find out that they sacrifice babies in rituals and I’d probably just shrug.
Ah that makes sense, read this too early in the morning to register that he was the only black reporter there 😀
I came to the comments to point it out if no one else had noticed it. Nice touch, Dave 😉
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. The NFL did indeed slip this one past me.
Yeah same. I heard it and thought ok. Disappointed but not surprised. You get used to it after awhile.
I love the detail that the black member of the media is the only one that doesn’t look shocked.
When I heard about this, I thought it was a joke at first and was offended someone would joke about this. Within a few minutes I realized they were serious and got more upset.
But this is the NFL. How many white QBs gets second, third and fourth chances, while their photonegative counterparts gets shown the bench the first time a pass hits a receiver on the fingertips and not the hand?
I think the most fucked thing about this is that racism was a tool here, not the motivation. The NFL just used preexisting cultural biases to cut health care costs for its employees, simple cruel math.
Simple Cruel Math is my post-punk Rumba band… and the NFL’s justifying mantra.
Ya, I had the same THEY DID WHAT! reaction. If it was done in the 1940’s, then yes, things were crappier back then, but in 2021? How, how, how in the hell do you justify something like that?
At some point, I do wonder if the internet and the whole access to more information will open up the question I’ve had for a long time. All I’ve got are anecdotal singular examples, but I don’t think an exhaustive study has been done into this question:
“Where do the washouts from a league go, after the sport has ruined their body, mind, and spirit?”
We’ve heard about how all these guys are college graduates, but the reality is very few minorities get hired on to positions that allow them to stay in the game. Their bodies are broken, and insurance is prohibitively high for them, even under the ACA. Their cognitive function is gone (and now we’re finding out the NFL is taking even LESS care of them than we thought they promised to), and they aren’t making the news anymore. We just stopped caring about them. Where did they go?
I ask this, because I met a famous black football player working in an AT&T store. He had real trouble with typing or writing, he shook my hand with a near palsy grip, and you could tell he was in pain. He even said he was. That this was what happened to him after 2 years of football and a severe injury that ended his career before he could qualify for insurance.
This is what he would have gotten if he had made it to three years: https://static.www.nfl.com/image/upload/v1613674055/league/puzs4x1behol1t8bzq99.pdf
But, he didn’t. He made it to two years and that was it. There’s no NFL health benefits for non-vested players, no matter the outcome, and so, so many wash out before the 3 years credited seasons (before 1993) or 2 years (after 1993)
My question is, what happens to THOSE people? Because that’s hundreds, if not thousands of people who we just pretend don’t exist. And to prove how much of a sadness this is, I can’t remember the name of the guy who did this, I definitely remember that I knew who he was at the time when he handed me his AT&T business card, but for the life of me, I can’t even remember who he was some 10 years later. Just that he was famous at the time, had a career cut short, and now was working because health bills drained all his money.
See, this NFL concussion program only applies to vested players. Players who get two or more credited seasons (after 1993) or three or more (before 1993)
It doesn’t apply to non-vested inactive players. At all.
Even the inactive, vested players, only get covered for five more years and then all they get is “preferred access” to medical care after that. They have to pay for that. Plus or minus some stuff that’s come about as part of lawsuits/settlements .
What happens to the people who disappear from our lives?
More like Roger Bad-ell
The black reporter is EVERY black person when this news dropped. America just doesn’t know how to surprise us anymore.