Today the NFL pledged to stop using “race norming” in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims. They also said that they would review past scores for any racial bias.
Race norming is bias at its worst. It assumes that Black players begin with lower cognitive functioning. Because of this, it’s harder for Black players to show a deficit and become eligible for financial awards from the settlement.
Last month, we wrote about the biased practice and the lawsuit filed by Cyril V. Smith.
Smith represents former players Kevin Henry and Najeh Davenport. Both players said they suffered from serious cognitive impairment and took tests that proved their claims. But the NFL denied their claims and both took second tests that were race normed, which made it difficult to prove they were suffering and denied them financial awards for treatment.
A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit in March but that didn’t stop the movement to end the discriminatory practice.
“We are deeply concerned that the Court’s proposed solution is to order the very parties who created this discriminatory system to negotiate a fix,” said Smith in March. “The class of Black former players whom we represent must have a seat at the table and a transparent process.”
Later that month, former Washington running back Ken Jenkins, and his wife Amy Lewis, handed over 50,000 signed petitions to senior U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody in Philadelphia, who dismissed Smith’s lawsuit. The petitions called for the repeal of race norming in the NFL tests.
“My reaction was, ‘Well, here we go again,’” said Jenkins at the time. “It’s the same old nonsense for Black folks, to have to deal with some insidious, convoluted deals that are being made.”
Bowing to pressure from former players and some in the medical community, the NFL has pledged to end the use of race norming in their tests.
“The replacement norms will be applied prospectively and retrospectively for those players who otherwise would have qualified for an award but for the application of race-based norms,” said the NFL in a statement issued Wednesday by spokesman Brian McCarthy.
Christopher Seeger is the lead lawyer for more than 20,000 retirees covered by the settlement. Of the more than 2,000 retired players who have filed claims, under 600 have received financial awards. According to the AP, awards have averaged $516,000 for the 379 players with early-stage dementia and more than $715,000 for the 207 players with moderate dementia
While he initially stated that he hadn’t seen any evidence of racial bias in the tests, Seeger issued an apology in a statement on Wednesday.
“I am sorry for the pain this episode has caused Black former players and their families. Ultimately, this settlement only works if former players believe in it, and my goal is to regain their trust and ensure the NFL is fully held to account,” said Seeger.
But Jenkins isn’t applauding anyone just yet.
“Words are cheap. Let’s see what they do,” said Jenkins.
