Note to NYT: Simple math ain't simple

Last week, the New York Times drew attention to the CTE problem in American football (link; paywall). The headline was: Study’s Alarming Finding: At Least 1 in 4 N.F.L. Players Gets Brain DiseaseFor some reason, the reporting downplayed the message.The Times told readers:The study’s main finding was simple math: At least 215 of those 878 former players — 24.5 percent — had C.T.E.Simple math, apparently, ain't simple.Wow. What a mess we've found on our hands.The study did not look at 878 "former players". Rather, the study covers 878 dead former players. If they intended to speak about "former players", then they are making an assumption that the prevalence of CTE is the same amongst living former players as those who passed away.The study didn't even examine all 878 dead former players. CTE is only diagnosed after death by inspecting the brain. The study actually concerned 235 dead former NFL players whose brains were donated for research. Over 90% of the 235 brains showed signs of…