I have not written recently about my work with the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Center, but our Advisory Board ended up making a suggestion that eventually resulted in Boston University getting funded to undertake research that led to the findings that are now in the headlines of every sports page and in discussions on every TV and radio sports talk show.  I am speaking about the discussions about the National Football League’s decision to issue a directive to officials, teams, and players that particularly “vicious” hits will be punished with player suspensions as well as penalties.

I commend NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for having the good sense to address this issue decisively, although, as I will point out, the BU research findings are potentially far more transformational for contact sports than the commentators about the findings have communicated.  What is most interesting, and, to some degree, saddening, is the fierce resistance of many players and commentators to an action that will benefit the players and the sport in the longer term.

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On the set of the film From the Rough, which I am producing and which is in production until November 5, I spoke with the film’s costume designer.  She told me that there is a shortage of tailors, shoe repair people, and weavers everywhere she goes. I can believe what she says, because it is consistent with my experience.  When my wife and I lived in New York City between 1981 and 1991, I needed to get a tear in a nice suit repaired.  A Saks Fifth Avenue sales professional referred me to a weaver, an elderly Italian woman, who was the only weaver he could identify.  She had a four-week backlog of work, and had hundreds of suits, trousers, and coats piled in her small retail space.

When I hear or read about the latest unemployment statistics, which, by the way, are significantly understated (the real unemployment rate is probably about 15-16% instead of 9.6%, since someone who is “discouraged” from seeking work is still unemployed, even if he or she is not formally applying for jobs), I get frustrated with the inflexible and short-sighted way in which governments and individuals are addressing the problem.

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