ESPN has been widely criticized for its decision to pull out of a joint documentary with Frontline that investigated the NFL's widespread concussion issue.

ESPN is a broadcast partner of the NFL.

A staffer with ESPN’s investigative team said that the decision to pull out of the “Frontline” project “is demoralizing to the people who remain at ‘Outside the Lines.’ ”

ESPN issued a statement by its president John Skipper in which he said the company was committed to journalism and supported the brothers. “We will continue to report this story,” he said