Dr. Elliot J. Pellman, the controversial rheumatologist who came to personify the league’s handling of brain trauma, will retire.
Despite having no expertise in neurology or brain science, Pellman long denied a link between head trauma and brain damage while working for nearly 30 years the Jets and the N.F.L. Working as a medical adviser to the league, Pellman led the influential Mild Traumatic Brain Injury committee that was established by the then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue. As the chairman of the committee, Pellman was instrumental in shaping the N.F.L.’s response to the growing awareness of the dangers of concussions and repeated head hits.