In the wake of Junior Seau's apparent suicide, the debate over football safety has reached a fever pitch.

New England Patriots wideout Chad Ochocinco joined the fray Friday, pledging his support to Roger Goodell in an open letter posted on his website but cautioning that "mounting evidence being revealed publicly" could soon show its true face.

"I know it has been a rough week, so I wanted to reach out. Players dying, players suing and on top of that my peers are just going off on you in the media," Ochocinco wrote in the letter posted on OCNNReport.com and addressed to the NFL's commissioner. "It does not help that ESPN has all of a sudden become Medical TV with damn near every brain expert on the planet. This has got to be the worst week ever. Since no one is showing any support, I figured I would be the first."

Goodell and the league's handling of concussions have come under fire in recent years, as the NFL has attempted to get a stronger hold on player safety by adopting stronger concussion testing policies and issuing hefty fines for hits involving the head.

Thousands of former NFL players also have sued the league over what they claim was willful ignorance of the dangers of head injuries. The safety debate reached a crescendo after Seau shot himself in the chest May 2 at his home in Oceanside, Calif.

Ochocinco, who affectionately refers to Goodell as "Dad" in the past and in Friday's letter, said he believes the league's own public relations arm is hurting the NFL's efforts.