Hillary Clinton aide sought concussion advice from NFL after her fall: Report

The latest batch of email messages from Hillary Clinton on Monday show how a Clinton communications staffer asked the National Football League for help in hope of deflecting criticism from right-wing commentators after the former secretary of state suffered a concussion when she fainted and hit her head in late 2012.

One of Clinton's closest aides was called to put together an unusual group of allies to help manage the messaging fallout from her all-too-convenient “Benghazi flu” — including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and former Republican Senate Leader Bill Frist, reported The Daily Beast.

Clinton's chief communications guru, Phillipe Reines contacted the NFL for help in alerting the press on the dangers of surrounding her December 2012 concussion. Buried among the hundreds of emails was an exchange about the injury on Christmas Eve that year, as she prepared to hand over the reins to John Kerry:

"Having a cracked head is no fun at all," Clinton emailed Reines.

"Speaking of your cracked head," he replied, "I reached out to both the Nfl commish (I remembered that his dad held your Senate seat) and Bill Frist. Frist responded wonderfully and is ready to help."

After Clinton assured Reines that she was "ok in the doctor department for now," he made his intentions clear.

"Sorry, didn't mean medically. Wouldn't ever do that," Reines wrote. "I meant I enlisted their help in my ongoing efforts to undermine the John Boltons and Laura Ingraham's of the world who are belittling your health." 

Clinton responded five minutes later: "That makes a lot of sense. As always, thanks for defending me, my friend."

Frist, a former Tennessee senator who served as U.S. Senate Majority Leader until 2007, is a Clinton-friendly Republican and a medical doctor.

The NFL, under Goodell, had been enduring years of public-relations setbacks as former players have died early or revealed traumatic brain injuries that they have said were a result of playing the sport of football.

Bolton, Ingraham and other commentators were quick to criticize Clinton as her concussion forced what conservatives saw as a too-convenient postponement of her first congressional testimony about the Benghazi attacks three months earlier.

Ingraham in particular suggested she was faking her injury in order to avoid an intense grilling on Capitol Hill.

Bill Clinton later said that it “required six months of very serious work” for his wife to get over the concussion.

Doctors had found a blood clot in her right transverse venous sinus related to her concussion, but ultimately determined that the clot caused no neurological injury. “No lingering effects,” Clinton told Diane Sawyer in 2014, when asked about her experience.

Monday's batch of released emails consumed more than 7,800 pages, mostly from 2012 and 2013. In all, 328 of the emails were deemed "classified," including one marked "secret."

That brings to 999 the total number of now-classified emails that once resided on Hillary's unsecured server at her upstate New York home.

Bill Belichick's playbook has more security.

Bill Clinton gets rousing applause at NBA All-Star Game during National Anthem (VIDEO)

Queen Latifah was not even halfway through the National Anthem at Sunday night's NBA All-Star Game when fans at Madison Square Garden erupted in applause while Bill Clinton, the former President of the United States, was shown on the jumbotron.

Yes, it was the 90's, during the Knicks' glory days of Ewing, Oakley, Starks and Herb Williams, all over again.

The burst of applause happened not once, but twice as the cameras went back to him at the end of the song.

And although Clinton made fast friends with Dikembe Mutombo, who sat next to the ex-prez, the former NBA center — like cigars and stained dresses — took a little shine off all of the adulation. 

Dikembe @officialmutombo – DOWN IN FRONT!! #NBAAllStarNYC pic.twitter.com/00YozsN0R8
— Bill Clinton (@billclinton) February 16, 2015

Bill Clinton administration demanded Yankees use Darryl Strawberry to help war on drugs: Report

Newly-released documents show that President Bill Clinton’s administration was watching how the Yankees handled troubled slugger Darryl Strawberry back in the 1990s.

In a June 1995 memo to Clinton, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel – now mayor of Chicago – shed light on the administration’s interest in the Yankees’ treatment of the slugger, who had substance abuse problems during his baseball career.

The memo said that frustrated White House drug policy chief Lee Brown had arranged a meeting with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner — after the Yankees signed Strawberry to a contract soon after the outfielder tested positive for cocaine in 1995, according to the government memo released as the Clinton Presidential Library continues to declassify documents from the Clinton era.

At the time, Steinbrenner had said he believed Strawberry was “worth saving.” A few days earlier, Brown said publicly, “The Yankees have struck out by signing Darryl Strawberry” because it suggested to young people that drug-users could be rewarded with lucrative sports contracts.

Brown, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under Clinton, had made a list of demands for Steinbrenner.

First, Strawberry was to perform community service with young people. Second, the Yankees "setting up a franchise-wide standard," which wasn't fully explained. And, third, to have the Yankees organization donate to drug program recommend by Brown.

The Bill Clinton administration demanded the #Yankees help fight the war on drugs in 1995: pic.twitter.com/pOUXNzfm63
— Brendan Kuty (@BrendanKutyNJ) June 7, 2014

The Yankees did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment, including whether they ever met any of the administration demands or if Steinbrenner’s meeting with Brown took place.

Strawberry played for the Yankees until 1999 after starring for years with the Mets and playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. The eight-time all-star hit 335 career home runs.

The Yankees won two World Series with Strawberry in 1998 and 1999.