Dave Zirin, Jeff Pearlman have valid criticisms about how NFL media covers CTE

America loves football and is reluctant to listen to anyone who tries to suppress the joy of watching it. The addiction is unstoppable as ratings and franchise evaluations continue to skyrocket. It’s the bubble that won’t burst.

Nobody wants to be the fun police, but there is a cost to all this, and we’re not talking tickets or subscription services. We rarely talk about concussions anymore. Sometimes it seems like the only time we even think about brain injuries is when we see Romeo Doubs in his Guardian Cap. We chuckle at the memes. We’re laughing to hide our discomfort, and then we quickly move on.

Recently, Dave Zirin and Jeff Pearlman have taken the media to task for not doing enough when it comes to reporting about concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Zirin wondered aloud why there hasn’t been more coverage, especially when you consider nine former and current NFL players under 48 have died this year.

Pearlman blasted ESPN for its viral Tony Dorsett sideline interview. Dorsett has been effectively diagnosed with CTE as a result of the brain trauma suffered from playing football. There is no definitive test for CTE in living people.

@jeffpearlmanauthor ESPN’s recent Tony Dorsett interview is heartbreaking. And irresponsible. #tonydorsett #espn #pressboxchronicles #cte #nfl ♬ original sound – Jeff Pearlman

They aren’t the only ones sounding the alarm. Last month on Pablo Torre Finds Out, he devoted an episode to CTE. The podcast description summed it up perfectly: “With football more popular than ever, fewer people seem to give a sh*t about CTE.” That’s a jarringly accurate assessment. Concussions, as a significant health issue, have mostly vanished from the sports discourse. They appear on the injury report before games, but they are discussed as if they were a high ankle sprain. 

Zirin did the research. According to his article for The Nation, ESPN published at least seven articles on concussion effects from August to November 2024. During the same period in 2025, The Nation could identify only one article. One of the drivers of that coverage in 2024 was likely Tua Tagovailoa, who has a well-documented history of concussions as a pro. He missed four games over five weeks last year after sustaining a hit in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills.

Concussions are still happening in the NFL. Zirin asked the question: Has ESPN’s business relationship with the NFL led to suppressing concussion coverage? This is the same ESPN that put a declining Dorsett on the air. It’s too convenient to paint The Worldwide Leader in Sports as the villain here. There are other major outlets. In general, the media has done a poor job of investigating and educating fans about concussions and CTE.

The deaths of current and former football players grab our attention for a brief while. The media has asked the right questions about CTE’s potential role in the death of 24-year-old Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, who died by suicide. However, we don’t know anything definitive yet. We do know that ex-Cincinnati Bengals running back Rudi Johnson took his own life in September after telling people he believed he had CTE.

Brain injuries are difficult to discuss because they’re not as obvious as a leg injury. When players enter that blue medical tent meant for privacy, so much is shielded from us. The broadcast media can tell us that they are being evaluated for a concussion, but that’s it. There’s a concussion protocol, and the games continue.

Perhaps the reason the NFL media doesn’t dive deeper into concussions is that it would shine more attention on the truth about the league. The game is brutal, and the bodies are disposable. More than any other sport, football eats its young. Nobody wants to talk about brain injuries because it risks eventually posing the ultimate question: should human beings even be playing football? Athletes are bigger, faster, and stronger than they have ever been. The damage they can do to each other is immense.

Of course, no one is advocating for the end of football. What is reasonable to ask is for the NFL, the NFLPA, and the NFL media to provide and report as much information as possible about concussions and CTE. At least everyone can fully understand the risks and know exactly what we’re watching.

In 2014, Malcolm Gladwell predicted that football would be obsolete in the next decade. He called it a “moral abomination.” Instead, the sport has never been more popular.

The NFL, the NFLPA, and the NFL media are incentivized to see that growth continue. Will all three spend more time carefully looking at what football does to the brain? Or will they, and the public, ignore it and keep on watching?

You already know the answer.