Dr. Elliot Pellman is retiring from his job as one of the league’s top medical advisers, apparently on the insistence of Roger Goodell. Pellman is one of the doctors who had allegedly concealed the link between football, head trauma and brain damage at the head of the research arm for the league.
“As we add additional full-time medical resources to our team, it is important to recognize and express our gratitude to Dr. Elliot Pellman, who is retiring after nearly 30 years of service, first to the New York Jets and then to the NFL,” Goodell said in a memo. “We thank Dr. Pellman for his dedicated service to the game and for his many contributions to the NFL and our clubs, and appreciate his willingness to aid in this transition over the next few months.”
His name appeared 26 times in a lawsuit that contended the league hid the link between football and brain damage as he was the leader of the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee. In May, a report from Congress concluded that the NFL had pressured the National Institute of Health to strip $16 million in research funding for a prominent Boston University researcher who was working on the link between football and brain trauma. The study was working from a $30 million “unrestricted gift” the league gave said researcher in 2012.
“We intend to hire a highly-credentialed physician to serve as Chief Medical Officer and work in the league office on a full-time basis,” Goodell wrote. “This individual will be responsible for working with our team medical staffs, the NFLPA and our medical committees, as well as the broader independent scientific and medical communities.
“This individual will add to our expertise and help ensure that our clubs have access to the most up-to-date information, that our research funds are spent in an effective and targeted way, and that our players and team staffs receive timely and thorough information on injuries and injury prevention.”
Pellman is still a rheumatologist based out of Long Island, and was the team physician and medical director for the New York Jets from 1988-2010. He’s been the medical director for the New York Islanders since 1996 as well.
The search for a new full-time chief medical officer will begin immediately.
