Judge Approves Fix To Stem Race Bias In NFL Concussion Deal

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A federal judge in Philadelphia has approved new rules that seek to eliminate racial bias in the testing and payout of NFL concussion claims. The revisions could allow Black retired football players who were denied payments for dementia in the NFL’s $1 billion concussion settlement to seek to be retested or have their claims rescored to eliminate racial bias. Outrage over the use of “race-norming” in the dementia testing forced the NFL and players’ lawyers back to the negotiating table last year. Race-norming assumed that Black people have a lower cognitive baseline score. The NFL has paid out more than $800 million to date, nearly half for dementia claims. The dementia awards average about $600,000.