NFL Accused of Racially Discriminating Against Ex-Players in Brain Damage Settlement Payouts

The National Football League is either the latest publicized culprit of racism, or the victim of racist accusations. The Hill reports, “the NFL is coming under growing pressure from critics who say its landmark concussion settlement treats ex-players differently based on race, making it more difficult for Black retirees to get payouts.”

The critics say the settlement is inherently a form of systemic racism because it “uses race-based criteria for neuropsychologists to assess whether Black and white former players have valid dementia-related claims stemming from their football careers.”

The criteria in question is “the concept of using different statistical curves based on race, known as ‘race-norming” reports The Hill, which says is “inherently controversial.” “Race-norming” and the Attorney who negotiated the settlement for the roughly 20,000 ex-players in the class-action lawsuit, Christopher Seeger, is also facing criticism for how the payouts are being distributed.

Over 50,000 people signed an online petition to have U.S. District Judge Anita Brody, who presided over the settlement, select a new attorney to represent the players, of which about 70 percent are Black.

The estimated $1 billion 2015 court-approved settlement has “paid around $800 million in claims so far” and the payments range from “around $27,000 up to $5.3 million, depending on a retiree’s age and degree of impairment” according to The Hill.

Seeger told The Hill earlier this week that race-norming has been used for decades. However, he added that he is continuing to investigate whether former players have “been disadvantaged in any way by the application of race norms.”

“Moving forward, we are focused on eliminating the use of demographic norms that adjust for race, and putting into place purely race-neutral demographic norms” added Seeger. The NFL has declared there is “no merit” to charges of racial discrimination in the payouts.