ISU researcher releases NFL concussions study

A researcher with Idaho State University released a study of NFL wives Tuesday, finding concussions of NFL players might be underreported.

Idaho State’s Caroline Faure’ reports 98-percent of respondents “were aware of instances in which their husbands failed to report symptoms associated with concussion…”

Faure received 59 anonymous responses from wives of NFL players from the 1980’s to present. They answered a 30-page survey.

Approximately 86-percent of surveyed wives reported being “aware of instances in which their husbands continued to play despite feeling concussed,” according to the study. About 71-percent said their husband “now suffers from one or more lingering side effects commonly associated with concussive history.”

Faure said in a statement released by the university, “Thus, according to the wives’ accounts, it could be reasonably argued that more concussions to players occurred than were diagnosed and/or reported.”

Faure also conducted a follow-up study, interviewing 20 wives. “From those interviews, we just got these emotionally robust descriptions of how concussion has affected the lives of the wives and families of players,” Faure said in the statement.

From the wives’ stories, Faure reports four trends: “husbands becoming unrecognizable, an emotional toll on wives and families, the husbands’ willingness to conceal concussions, and a disdain towards the NFL for a lack of support.”
Tune to Local News 8 Wednesday night at 10:35 p.m. for more on the study and an exclusive interview with Caroline Faure on Newsline.

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