New CTE study raises profound questions about the NFL — and ourselves
Screenshot from Behind the Shield: The Power & Politics of the NFL, featuring Dave Zirin.
THE PRICE OF AMERICA’S GAME
As a major new brain injury study puts football’s human toll back in the spotlight, Behind the Shield: The Power & Politics of the NFL gives educators a broader cultural lens on the story.
A stunning new study suggests that at least one in four former NFL players may develop CTE, the degenerative brain disease caused by repeated blows to the head.
And the true rate could be much higher.
The study, published in The BMJ and reported today by The New York Times, examined 878 former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021.¹ At least 215 — nearly 25 percent — had been diagnosed with CTE. Because most of their brains were never examined, researchers say that 25 percent should be considered a floor.
But this isn’t only a medical story. It’s a cultural one — about the values we attach to manhood, violence, toughness, and sacrifice, and about the extraordinary power of the NFL to transform those values into a multibillion-dollar entertainment spectacle.
That’s a central concern of our bestselling documentary Behind the Shield: The Power & Politics of the NFL, featuring and based on the work of acclaimed journalist Dave Zirin.
Drawing on NFL films, advertising, news coverage, and decades of archival footage, Zirin places the league’s concussion and CTE crisis inside a football mythology built around toughness, aggression, physical domination, playing through pain, sacrificing the body, and refusing to show weakness.
Watch an excerpt from the film exploring these issues.
Behind the Shield also widens its lens beyond CTE and myths of manhood, examining how the NFL has used its enormous cultural reach to sell ideas about U.S. militarism and war, corporate and oligarchic power, women and gender, patriotism, race, and dissent.
Seen in that context, the new CTE findings raise a question that goes far beyond player safety: What does the violence inherent in America’s most popular, pervasive, and profitable sports brand tell us about ourselves as a nation?
That question is especially important given that repeated news stories about CTE and other debilitating player injuries have barely dented the NFL’s popularity and commercial power. The league now generates more than $23 billion a year even as hundreds of former players have been diagnosed with CTE.
For educators, that collision between violence and entertainment, human cost and commercial power, masculinity and media spectacle makes Behind the Shield a compelling teaching tool for exploring some of the larger cultural forces shaping American life.
1. “Study’s Alarming Finding: At Least 1 in 4 N.F.L. Players Gets Brain Disease,” by John Branch, The New Tork Times, Aug. 25, 2026.
Praise for Behind the Shield
“Behind the Shield is about so much more than football – it is about us and where we are as a nation and what lies ahead. If you love football, watch this film. If you care about justice, watch this film!”
— Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Head of African American Studies at Princeton University
“Behind the Shield is terrifying and brilliant. After watching it, I now believe that you cannot understand this country without understanding NFL football. I will be showing this film in my classes FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.”
— Robin D.G. Kelley, Professor and Chair of History, UCLA
“Behind the Shield convincingly demonstrates that football is indeed the most American sport, then deftly deconstructs just what that Americanness implies.”
— Melissa Harris-Perry, The Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University
“Dave Zirin is one of the foremost thought leaders on the intersection between sports, race, and politics. In Behind the Shield, his thoughtful critiques of the most powerful brand in sports are both necessary and patriotic.”
— Jemele Hill | Sports Journalist, Contributing Writer, The Atlantic
“You may not care about football—but [this] riveting documentary reminds us that we have a stake in understanding how powerful the NFL is in shaping our country, culture, and politics. A must-watch.”
— Katrina vanden Heuvel | Editorial Director & Publisher, The Nation
“A provocative, eye-opening documentary that upends conventional wisdom. You may not agree with everything in [this film]. But it will compel you to ponder, deeply.”
— Ken Auletta | Media Critic for The New Yorker
“Provocative and unflinching, Behind the Shield is not just about the NFL, but about who we are as Americans. This documentary is long overdue.”
— Julie DiCaro | Sports Journalist, Author, Sidelined: Sports, Culture & Being a Woman in America
“Outstanding! Exposes the heart of the menacing partnership between the NFL and the military-industrial complex. Watch this documentary, and then share it. The stakes are too high not to.”
— Rory Fanning | Author, Former U.S. Army Ranger who served with Pat Tillman in Afghanistan
“An exceptional expose of why American football fans’ and the NFL’s demand that we shouldn’t insert ‘politics in sports’ is itself so political. A must-watch.”
— Soraya Chemaly | Author, Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger
“Behind the Shield offers a stark portrait that compels viewers to consider the power, pitfalls, and possibilities of the NFL’s continued cultural impact.”
— Amira Rose Davis | Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas-Austin, Co-host of the “Burn it All Down” podcast
“An indispensable educational resource for our perilous political times. Whether you love professional football or hate it, if you want your students to understand how the sports/entertainment industry shapes dominant ideology, this film is your new best friend.”
— Jackson Katz, Ph.D. | Author, Creator of the award-winning Tough Guise video series
