PHILADELPHIA—Hundreds of Black NFL retirees denied payouts in the $1 billion concussion settlement now qualify for awards after their tests were rescored to eliminate racial bias.
Changes to the settlement made last year are meant to make the tests race-blind. The use of “race norming” in the dementia testing made it more difficult for Blacks to prove they had the kind of cognitive decline that qualifies retired players for awards that average $500,000 or more.
Nearly 650 men have had their dementia tests automatically rescored, according to a report released Friday by the law firm handling claims against the NFL.
The retirees had met the other criteria for a successful claim, which includes hours of validity testing to show that their daily lives are significantly impaired and that they are not malingering….