Harvard Chosen To Conduct Injury Study For NFL Players Union

07:15

January 29, 2013

Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews hits Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joe Webb after throwing a pass during an NFL wild card playoff football game Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

The National Football League players union has chosen Harvard University to lead an unprecedented effort to understand the long-term health effects of professional football. Among the risks involved in the sport, repeated blows to the head have been linked to violent behavior, depression and the deaths of several players, including Junior Seau, a former linebacker for the New England Patriots, who committed suicide last spring.

There's a lot at stake for the National Football League, which faces more than a hundred lawsuits from former players who allege the league did too little to warn or protect them from the hazards of the sport. The goal of the study is to improve the health of active and retired players within five years.

Guest:

Dr. Lee Nadler, director of the football project and dean for Clinical and Translational Research at Harvard Medical School.

More:

CNN "NFL Players Association, Harvard planning $100 million player study"

This segment aired on January 29, 2013.