NFL judge: Lawyers for Black players can join mediation

FILE - Former NFL players Ken Jenkins, right, and Clarence Vaughn III, center right, along with their wives, Amy Lewis, center, and Brooke Vaughn, left, carry tens of thousands of petitions demanding equal treatment for everyone involved in the settlement of concussion claims against the NFL, to the federal courthouse in Philadelphia, in this Friday, May 14, 2021, file photo. The NFL on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, pledged to halt the use of “race-norming” — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive functioning — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and review past scores for any potential race bias.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - This Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007, file photo shows Pittsburgh Steelers' Najeh Davenport in Pittsburgh. The NFL on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, pledged to halt the use of “race-norming” — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive functioning — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and review past scores for any potential race bias. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2014, file photo, lawyer Christopher Seeger, left, and client former NFL player Shawn Wooden speak with members of the media after a hearing on the proposed NFL concussion settlement outside of the U.S. Courthouse in Philadelphia. The NFL on Wednesday, June 2, 2021, pledged to halt the use of “race-norming” — which assumed Black players started out with lower cognitive functioning — in the $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims and review past scores for any potential race bias. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)