The federal judge presiding over the NFL’s $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims on Thursday invited lawyers for Black players who call the settlement racially biased to join court-led mediation over the issue. The practice assumes Black players start with lower cognitive skills and makes it harder for them to show injury and get awards from the settlement fund. The judge's order comes a day after the NFL issued a public pledge to abandon the practice and formally review the scores of retired players who believe the race-based scoring adjustments deprived them of settlements that average $500,000 or more.