A federal judge in Philadelphia has approved new rules that seek to eliminate racial bias in the testing and payout of NFL concussion claims.

The NFL and lawyers for thousands of retired NFL players have reached an agreement to end race-based adjustments in dementia testing in the $1 billion settlement of concussion claims.

The NFL is pledging to halt the use of “race-norming” in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and to review Black claims for any potential race bias.

Thousands of retired Black professional football players, their families and supporters are demanding an end to the controversial use of “race-norming” to determine which players are eligible for payouts in the NFL’s $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims, a system experts say is discriminatory.

A federal judge on Monday, March 8, 2021, dismissed a lawsuit that challenged race-norming in dementia tests for retired NFL players, a practice that some say makes it harder for Black athletes to show injury and qualify for awards. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)PHILADELPHIA – A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit that challenged “race-norming” in dementia tests for retired NFL players, a practice that some say makes it harder for Black athletes to qualify for awards that average more than $500,000. The judge instead ordered the NFL and the lead lawyer in the overall $1 billion settlement to resolve the issue through mediation. That process would appear to exclude the Black players who sued. He wants race-norming banned in NFL testing going forward, and cases reviewed if it was used in the past.

Lawyers for ex-players Henry and Najeh Davenport said their clients were denied awards based on a discriminatory testing regime" that weighs sociological factors including race. Both men would have qualified for awards had race not been considered, they said. The dementia claims have proven especially contentious three-quarters of them have been denied, often after challenges from the NFL. Lawyers for ex-players Kevin Henry and Najeh Davenport said their clients were denied awards based on a discriminatory testing regime" that weighs demographic factors including race. Both men would have qualified for awards had race not been considered, they said.