Pressure from the National Football League led to
ESPN’s decision on Thursday to pull out of an investigative project with “Frontline” regarding
head injuries in the N.F.L., according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation.
“Frontline,” the PBS public affairs series, and ESPN had been working for 15 months on a two-part documentary, to be televised in October. But ESPN’s role came under intense pressure by the league, the two people said, after
a trailer for the documentary was released Aug. 6, the day that the project was discussed at a Television Critics Association event in Beverly Hills, Calif.
