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Duke to Host Film Screening, Discussion of NFL Concussions Oct. 10

Two investigative reporters for ESPN who have written extensively about concussions in the NFL will speak at Duke Oct. 10.

Two ESPN investigative reporters will discuss the National Football League's response to the risks of players' head injuries following a screening of the PBS documentary "League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis," on Thursday, Oct. 10, at Duke University.

The FRONTLINE film, which tells the inside story of the NFL's response to mounting evidence about the long-term effects of head injuries sustained by its players, begins at 6 p.m. in the Bryan Center's Griffith Film Theater on Duke's West Campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Mark Fainaru-Wada and his brother, Steve Fainaru, winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting, will be on hand for the two-hour screening of the film, which is based on their research and forthcoming book by the same name.

Following the screening, Philip Bennett, a Duke professor of public policy who served as the film's managing editor, will lead an audience discussion with the Fainaru brothers about the film. Topics will include the NFL's efforts to discredit and dismiss the emerging science about brain damage related to football, what the concussion issue means for players and the future of America's most popular sport.

"League of Denial," which premieres Oct. 8, traces the NFL’s 20-year history of dealing with questions about health risks to players from head trauma. The film tells the stories of scientists studying the issue and of players, some of whom are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, whose lives have been ruined by brain injuries. The book will be released Oct. 8.

>In August, the NFL agreed to a $765 million settlement with more than 4,500 retired players who alleged that the league covered-up risks from head injuries. The league did not admit any wrongdoing and avoided disclosure of its internal deliberations about the issue in court. 

The Sanford School of Public Policy's DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy will host the screening and discussion.