“While the NFL had been publicly proclaiming its role as funder and accelerator of important research, it was privately attempting to influence that research,” lawmakers said in a report. | AP Photo House Dems: NFL tried to interfere with government study on brain injuries

House Democrats are accusing the NFL of attempting to use donations to influence a major government-backed study on the links between football injuries and brain disease.

A 91-page report, released by House Energy and Commerce Democrats on Monday, claims that NFL officials tried to quietly persuade the National Institutes of Health to yank a $16 million research grant for Dr. Robert Stern, a prominent Boston University researcher who has been vocally critical of the league and its approach to the dangers of concussions.



“While the NFL had been publicly proclaiming its role as funder and accelerator of important research, it was privately attempting to influence that research,” the lawmakers said in the report.



The money was part of a $30 million "unrestricted" gift the NFL donated to NIH in 2012 for research on “serious medical conditions prominent in athletes.”


According to the report, officials from the league were trying to get that money redirected to members of the NFL’s own committee on brain injury research.

Democrats in the report say that when the NIH refused to strip Stern’s grant, the NFL backed off on its deal to pay for the study, leaving taxpayers to pick up the check.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league rejects the allegations laid out in the report, adding that it was the NIH that made the ultimate funding decision, not the NFL.

But he did acknowledge that there were perceived issues with the research. "There is no dispute that there were concerns raised about both the nature of the study in question and possible conflicts of interest. These concerns were raised for review and consideration through the appropriate channels," he said.

The congressional investigation was prompted by an ESPN article in December that first alleged the NFL had backed out of its donation because it objected to the NIH’s selection of Stern.

The NFL has been routinely under scrutiny for its approach to research on football and brain injuries. The New York Times in March reported that the league has been using flawed data on concussions.