National Football League

NFL aware of concussion test cheating

Published Apr. 27, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

Alex Marvez

News that some NFL players cheat on concussion tests in hopes of returning to the field faster was no surprise to commissioner Roger Goodell.

Goodell told FOXSports.com on Wednesday that he was aware of players intentionally scoring lower on the initial baseline testing used to help determine the severity of a head injury.

Baseline exams measure elements such as cognitive thinking, memory, concentration and balance. Under the NFL's new concussion policy, the results of tests regiven after a player suffers an in-game head injury will be compared to those from the preseason. Players who don't score high enough are prohibited from re-entering and will need medical clearance to return for future games.

Dr. Daniel Amen, who treated 100 current and former NFL players suffering from head injuries as part of a scientific study, recently told me and co-host Rich Gannon on Sirius NFL Radio that some of his clients admitted to fudging test results.

"Players are smart. They know that if they have a concussion and score badly that, 'I'm going to be taken out. It's going to affect my livelihood,'" Amen said. "I've had a number of players tell me they purposely do bad on the testing to start so if they get a concussion it doesn't affect them.

"We need to educate them that this is a really dumb idea, that it's the rest of their life that they're playing with."

Goodell agrees.

"It's always been an issue we've had to address," Goodell said Wednesday at an NFL youth initiative in New York City. "It's one of the reasons why we've stated and made sure players understand the seriousness of the injury because it's not in their best long-term health interest. You would hope players would understand that. That's why we try to educate them on it.

After Amen's revelation, former NFL safety Matt Bowen admitted cheating on his concussion test in his column for nationalfootballpost.com. Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning also made a similar admission, although there is a chance he was speaking tongue-in-check during an interview that aired Tuesday on ESPN.

"They have these new tests we have to take," Manning said. "Before the season, you have to look at 20 pictures and turn the paper over and then try to draw those 20 pictures. They do it with words, too. Twenty words, you flip it over, and try to write those 20 words.

"Then, after a concussion, you take the same test, and if you do worse than you did on the first test, you can’t play. So I just try to do badly on the first test."

Even if Manning were kidding, the joke would fall flat in the eyes of the NFL. After years of turning a blind eye to the effects of head trauma on current and former players, the league has made a strong push to address the issue and draw public awareness, especially for participants in youth sports. The NFL is funding medical studies, testing technological advances such as censors in helmets to detect concussions and enacting rules to keep affected players from returning prematurely.

The league diagnosed 223 players with concussions in 333 overall games last season including the preseason and playoffs.