The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission says his agency is looking into marketing claims that some football helmets can help reduce concussions, responding to a senator who wants the FTC to investigate what he called “misleading safety claims and deceptive practices” in the sale of new helmets and reconditioning of used ones.
“We agree that these are serious concerns, and will determine what action by this agency may be appropriate,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz wrote to Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.).
“Given the dangers that concussions pose for young athletes engaged in contact sports, it is essential that advertising for products claiming to reduce the risk of this injury be truthful and substantiated,” he added.
In the letter, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, Leibowitz said that issues involving serious health concerns — especially those for children and young adults — are a “high priority for the commission.” He said the commission would look at several factors “in determining whether to take enforcement or other action.”
Leibowitz was responding to a Jan. 4 letter from Udall, who said he was “troubled by misleading marketing claims by Riddell, a leading helmet maker that supplies the official helmet to the National Football League.”
He quoted Riddell’s Web site as saying that “research shows a 31 percent reduction in the risk of concussion in players wearing a Riddell Revolution football helmet when compared to traditional helmets.”
“Yet there is actually very little scientific evidence to support the claim,” Udall said, adding that the voluntary industry standard for football helmets doesn’t specifically address concussion prevention or reduction. The senator also mentioned another helmet manufacturer, Schutt Sports.
At the time of Udall’s letter, Schutt Sports said it never claimed its helmets were “concussion reducing.” On Friday, the company said it didn’t have anything to add in response to the FTC letter. Riddell, which had called Udall’s allegations “unfounded and unfair,” had no immediate comment Friday.
FTC spokeswoman Betsy Lordan said the commission could launch an investigation, but wouldn’t confirm or deny one until it closed the investigation without bringing charges or announced it was bringing charges of deceptive advertising.
Stephen Ross, a former FTC lawyer who now directs the Penn State Institute for Sports Law, Policy and Research, said the commission has several options if it decides to pursue action against companies, including a cease-and-desist order.
In a statement, Udall said he was “pleased and encouraged that Chairman Leibowitz shares my serious concerns about misleading football helmet safety claims in advertising by sports equipment companies. This is a safety issue with the potential to impact every child that plays football.”
Last fall, Udall asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate whether safety standards for football helmets are adequate to protect young players from concussions.
Concussion and other head injuries are receiving increased attention at all levels of sports, from the NFL to Pop Warner, the nation’s oldest and largest youth football organization.
