Controversial Medical Adviser For NFL Replaced

By ESPN

The NFL will replace longtime and controversial medical adviser Elliot Pellman with a new full-time chief medical officer, commissioner Roger Goodell wrote Wednesday in a letter to club executives.

Goodell wrote Wednesday in a letter to club executives. Pellman will retire, Goodell wrote, but the commissioner made the decision that prompted Pellman's retirement, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Goodell understands that the NFL must demonstrate strong leadership on health and safety and that its players and fans need to trust in the league, the sources said.

Pellman is retiring after a 30-year career with the NFL. A rheumatologist, Pellman had served as New York Jets team doctor and was also chairman of the league's powerful research arm.

Pellman has been a central figure in the NFL's attempts to deal with rising concerns about concussions. For more than two decades, Pellman presided over the NFL's Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee -- a group consisting largely of NFL trainers and doctors. The MTBI committee, formed in 1994 by then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue, spent decades producing studies that portrayed concussions as minor injuries, while Pellman and his colleagues attacked independent scientists who linked football to brain damage.

In a 2013 story, Outside the Lines revealed that Pellman had served for years as Tagliabue's personal physician. An earlier ESPN piece described how Pellman used the questionable conclusions of the MTBI committee in his work with the Jets, often allowing concussed players back into games. In 2005, the New York Times revealed that Pellman embellished his credentials and failed to disclose that he attended medical school in Guadalajara, Mexico. Pellman resigned as chairman not long after, though he remained on the committee.

In 2010, under pressure from Congress, commissioner Roger Goodell disbanded the MTBI committee and replaced it with the Head, Neck and Spine Committee. The new leaders of that group agreed with assertions that the MTBI Committee's work was "infected" and said they would use none of the previous studies.

Pellman was removed from the committee, but, to the surprise of many researchers, he maintained a role a medical advisor within the league offices.

Ezekiel Elliott's Jerseys Most Popular

In the past three full months, Ezekiel Elliott has sold more jerseys than any other NFL player.

That's an impressive stat for the current Dallas Cowboys and former Ohio State running back, given that players who were already in the league had a 27-day jump on Elliott, who was drafted fourth on April 28. Elliott's home and away jerseys were available for preorder later that night.

Based on sales from April 1-June 30 on NFLShop.com, the league's official online site, Elliott beat out New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who despite the focus on Deflategate finished in the second spot, followed by New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. Carson Wentz, who was picked second in the draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, finished sixth.

Elliott undoubtedly had quite the momentum coming into the league, given Ohio State's huge fan base. In January 2015, Elliott ran for four touchdowns in the team's 42-20 victory over Oregon, giving the Buckeyes the first College Football Playoff title.