dr. weir, that you are not connected with the university of michigan injury institute recently formed there. we welcome you and we look forward to your testimony. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and members of the committee. for inviting me here today. the institute for social research at the university of michigan is for research to serve the public interest and we're always ready to respond to you. i appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight on our study of retired nfl players. faced with the aging of the u.s. population, we are all looking for policies and programs to serve the needs of people after a lifetime of hard work. this unique population of retired football players is an intriguing place to look for challenges and solutions. our study had two broad goals. the first at the request of the nfl was to describe the population of retired players across a wide range of topics from marriage and family life to health, to economic circumstances. in an environment of sensationalized p

we had a phone survey which dr. weir will discuss. we are actively follow up with the 56 players to report may a look -- memory problems. we know that concussions are a serious matter and that they will require special attention and treatment. i have been clearer, medical considerations must always come first. decisions regarding treatment of players with concussions and when they can resume play must be made by doctors and doctors alone. we are changing the culture of our game for the better. again, it is important to look at what we have done. in addition to research that has led to better equipment, we have made numerous changes in tactics that lead to concussions. we took a number of steps with the active participation of the medical director spirit we held an open medical conference on concussion. many of the doctors here participated and share their findings. we develop new educational material for families and their players -- players and their families. it reinforces a clear trend toward increasingly conservative care. the nfl

we had a phone survey which dr. weir will discuss. we are actively follow up with the 56 players to report may a look -- memory problems. we know that concussions are a serious matter and that they will require special attention and treatment. i have been clearer, medical considerations must always come first. decisions regarding treatment of players with concussions and when they can resume play must be made by doctors and doctors alone. we are changing the culture of our game for the better. again, it is important to look at what we have done. in addition to research that has led to better equipment, we have made numerous changes in tactics that lead to concussions. we took a number of steps with the active participation of the medical director spirit we held an open medical conference on concussion. many of the doctors here participated and share their findings. we develop new educational material for families and their players -- players and their families. it reinforces a clear trend toward increasingly conservative care. the nfl