Do NFL Policies Discourage Players from Receiving Needed Mental Health Treatment?
Law & Policy InsightsMental Health and Well-BeingInjury Prevention and SafetyThere is an established link between mental illness and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease believed to be caused by repeated brain trauma, including sports related concussions. CTE has been recognized as a contributing factor in the deaths of an alarming number of NFL players, but as the NFL classifies mental illness as an injury, it may inadvertently be discouraging and disincentivizing players from disclosing a debilitating mental disability.