What would you say as an HR pro if I told you the industry you work in had 1/3 of its employees ultimately develop cognitive issues and disease due to the work, and that those disorders happened at much earlier ages than the general population?

You'd say it's time to find a new HR gig, because your industry is getting ready to get shut down.  Right?  Of course you'd say that.

But America is Rome, and as it turns out, the industry being referred to is real - it's pro football (the American version).  And the stats I'm referring to?  They're being reported not by a third party, but by the National Football League (NFL) itself. 

Holy crap.  The NFL itself is reporting that 1/3 of it's players will have cogntive disorders.  Does that mean the real number is even higher? 

More from the New York Times:

"The National Football League, which for years disputed evidence that its players had a high rate of severe brain damage, has stated in federal court documents that it expects nearly a third of retired players to develop long-term cognitive problems and that the conditions are likely to emerge at “notably younger ages” than in the general population.

The findings are a result of data prepared by actuaries hired by the league and provided to the United States District Court judge presiding over the settlement between the N.F.L. and 5,000 former players who sued the league, alleging that it had hidden the dangers of concussions from them.

“Thus, our assumptions result in prevalence rates by age group that are materially higher than those expected in the general population,” said the report, prepared by the Segal Group for the N.F.L. “Furthermore, the model forecasts that players will develop these diagnoses at notably younger ages than the generation population.”

What type of cognitive disorders/disease you ask?  The research says Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer's, advanced dementia, ALS or C.T.E (chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease that can be identified only in an autopsy).

We are Rome. The gladiators are football players. We are the mob.

I've got one kid playing youth football at a low level.  I get that NFL players have been exposed to it for 20 years, but I'm not sure I can let him play again after seeing this. Malcolm Gladwell is on record as saying that youth football won't exist once technology exists that allows a mobile MRI machine to show parents what happens to the brain on a helmet to helmet hit.

There are really no health benefits to football.  1/3 of the professional workforce with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer's, advanced dementia, ALS or C.T.E. - and that's self-reported, it's probably higher.

Entertain us.  We are Rome. 

War Eagle.