when trying to backtrack on decisions later decried by the public

They need to make changes to make the sport a lot safer. It's not just this, but a whole lot of former NFL players die early from heart attacks as well. It's not just the ones who gain weight because it's hard to go from 10,000 calories a day down to 3 or 4,000. But, even if they stay somewhat in shape they are still in danger just because their sheer size makes their hearts work harder.

I think they should concentrate on bringing the size "requirement" down. Not allowing pile ons, I don't even like seeing that it looks totally unnecessary as well. Not allowing practice or games to be played in 90 + degree heat or at least a whole lot of awareness of what needs to be done if you are going to do that, right now it's like oh it's 104 degrees lets practice just as hard as if it was 70 degrees and lets not have extra water on hand and lets not take a few extra breaks. If I knew more about football I would probably have other suggestions as well.

According to the Alzheimer's Association those over 85 years old have a fifty fifty chance of having Alzheimer's :
http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_causes_risk_factors.asp

I'm thinking the Time magazine article means before age 85 but that article was very vague.

NFL, CFL, college, high school, even pee-wee. Welcome Discovery, NatGeo, AHC, Science, et al.

We reward these players for on-the-field violence, which simultaneously damages their brains and ability to limit that violence off-the-field.

I enjoy the athleticism of NFL football, but I feel way too little regard is given to the players' safety.