NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the issue of head injuries in professional football during a talk held on November 15, 2012 at the Harvard School of Public Health. In the talk, he highlighted the NFL's efforts to reduce head injuries by enacting measures such as penalizing hits to the head, better assessing concussions on the sideline, and removing players from the game after they have been diagnosed or suspected of having sustained a concussion. He also discussed the need for increased research on brain injuries and long-term disorders, and called for a culture change in the league, saying that players need to be more willing to acknowledge their injuries to medical staff. In September 2012 the league pledged a $30 million donation to the National Institutes of Health to research the connection between brain injuries and long-term mental health issues. Beginning in 2012 the NFL was the subject of several lawsuits initiated by former players who alleged that the league withheld information and misled players about the potential long-term impacts of head injuries. Six of the lawsuits were approved to be tried together. In August 2013 the NFL reached a settlement with more than 4,500 former players, agreeing to pay $765 million to be used to pay for medical examinations for former NFL players and for research and education purposes. Additionally, the funds will also be used to compensate former players who are determined to have significant cognitive impairment.