Report: NFL to help Australian Football with concussions studies

Friday's health and safety news from the world of football:

• The NFL will help to fund a concussion research initiative for the Australian Football League, according to the Melbourne Herald Sun.

• MedPage Today looked at how the NFL has made changes to improve the concussion awareness among players, talking to Dr. Robert Cantu, who is senior adviser of the NFL's Head, Neck and Spine Committee.

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Seattle Seahawks defensive end Red Bryant, who has overcome dyslexia on the way to play in the NFL.

• USA Today reported how the NFL is helping to build 26 playgrounds along the New Jersey/New York/Connecticut shore to honor the shooting victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.

• An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found 40 percent of Americans say they would encourage their children to play a different sport than football because of worries about concussions.

• Super Bowl-winning quarterback Troy Aikman, who will provide color commentary on the Fox broadcast of Sunday's game, told Newsday that he feels no ill effects from the concussions that caused him to retire from the NFL.

• Former New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath told New York media that he blames long-term mental health issues on concussions he suffered while playing football.

• XLTN medical director Dr. Henry Kerasidis said in a statement that there is not enough medical evidence to support the idea that marijuana would help concussion recovery.

• The Associated Press reported that Indiana's new youth concussion bill, which would require coaches to undergo training for protocols, passed the state senate.

• New York State Athletic Trainers Association used Super Bowl week to announce an array of upcoming concussion seminars, according to Broadway World.

• The Brain Alliance of New Jersey used Super Bowl week to launch a new website, it announced in a press release.

• KWTV-TV in Oklahoma City reported on the Newcastle, Okla., High School football team's use of the SafeBrain concussion sensor.

• KNAU-FM, an NPR station in Flagstaff, Ariz., interviewed Dr. Amy Isaki, who has been working on concussion issues for 20 years.

-- Bill Bradley, contributing editor