Detroit Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy knows very well where he stands on the issue of concussion and the role they play in the NFL and the game of football, even if the NFL's billionaire owners don't. Only a week or say after NFL senior vice president of health and safety, Jeff Miller, said that a link between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) "clearly" exists, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay have done their best to blur that unequivocal statement.
Jones laughed off the assertion that a connection exists, while Irsay played dumb, likening the issue to taking aspirin - one person may respond differently to a normal dose of the over-the-counter pain reducer than another.
Levy, an outspoken proponent of concussion research and increased "transparency" from the league regarding their own findings on the subject, saw Irsay's comments and responded with a barb that's sure to rankle more than a few feathers at the league office.
Frequent trips to the pharmacy makes you a medical expert on CTE?
A photo posted by DeAndre Levy (@dre_levy) on Mar 28, 2016 at 1:37pm PDT
While the "frequent pharmacy trips" seems a clear response to Irsay's aspirin comments, its also worth noting that Irsay has, in the past, admitted to and been a prisoner of a prescription drug problem. Irsay was first investigated in 1995, when his name was discovered among those on a ledger belonging to a doctor alleged to have run a pill mill. From there, a "pattern" of prescription drug abuse emerged. Irsay spent months in rehab on several different occasions and overdosed more than once.
The investigation eventually centered on a local Indianapolis doctor who was found to be prescribing large quantities of powerful painkillers like Hyrdocodone and Norco to the Colts owner.
Levy, whose found his name in the press recently due to his questioning of the league's handling of the concussion/CTE issue, seems like the kind of guy that's probably well-aware of Irsay's past.
Whether his comment was a shot across Irsay's bow, beyond a surface-level needling of Irsay over his "the science is incomplete" routine, is something only Levy knows for certain.
But one thing is clear - the ignorant act that Irsay, Jones and the rest of the league are employing as a means of avoiding the concussion debate won't be able to last forever. Eventually they'll have to face up to the realities of the game they make millions upon millions upon millions of dollars off every season and the resulting impact it has on the players who put on the jerseys and fill the seats.
