Today’s news surrounding health and safety in football:

* The New York Times reported on the insurance ramifications of concussion liability in the NFL.

Creating a formula for how to apportion liability will in some cases depend on the broader case between the league and its players now in federal court in Pennsylvania. If the N.F.L. persuades the judge to dismiss the case, the league will be left trying to recoup its legal costs from the insurers. If the judge allows the players’ case to proceed, the definitions of when, how and whether a player’s concussions led to his illness will become critical in shaping the insurers? exposure, and could take years to sort out.

* The Atlantic wrote that the macho culture of sports will make it quite some time before players aren’t afraid to report a concussion.

The majority of U.S. states have enacted laws requiring that any young athlete suspected of having sustained a concussion is immediately removed from play. But Echlin argues that no real changes are going to be seen until we change the underlying culture of contact sports. It’s certainly not going to come from people entrenched in the culture, he added, like Peyton Manning, who provides simple instructions for how to cheat the concussion test in order to stay in the game.

* The Associated Press has reported that Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy can return to practice after passing their concussion tests after a month of being sidelined.

* A column in the Easton (Mass.) Patch suggested getting rid of tackle football for kids.

* DailyRx.com gave its take on the recent study on a school’s men’s and women’s college hockey teams and the severe lack of reporting of concussions.

– Bill Bradley