NS.. ex-NFL players sue league... It's starting to make sense now (1 Viewer)

[jagdad]

The way I hear it, the rules "of old" made the players PROVE that football caused the mental and head problems that occurred down the road. Hard if not impossible.
New Collective Agreement removes the factor of proof. In other words, no proof required anymore for the players to get help and treatment down the road. That's why all the new "protections" have been put in place.

 

[stadanko]

We're talking about 22 year old kids who are being told by everyone around them that they are crazy if they don't go into the NFL. That anyone in their position would do the same thing. I'm not saying they have no responsibility, but summing it up like they're crooks trying to scam some one is a pretty simplistic view.

 

[bigcarlittlewill]

Colt McCoy should sue.

 

[Zack Lee]

Comon Man!

its not just about money!

If you are going to make billions on these guys killing their bodies and brains, is it too much to ask to set up a good Health care plan for them so that they can tend to the wounds they will have for the rest of their lives?

 

[Goatman Saint]

The nfl is going to lose this case and they know it. Look at the facts and it's obvious. Playing in the nfl causes damage to the body and brain. That is accepted as fact. By employing team doctors that hand out medication so that players can play thereby ignoring injuries or medicating to get through with known potential harm going to happen is an open and shut case. The nfl knows this.

As far as personal responsibility there is going to be the arguement made that they will lose their job if they do not keep playing with an injury or be pressured by the setting to continue to play for the good of the team.

 

[SouthernSaint]

It was my understanding that the players get paid a lot more than average people not only because of the popularity of the sport but also because they are putting their bodys on the line.

 

[Sarcastic]

They have a reasonable expectation to be told the truth by doctors employed by the NFL, and many times they weren't. There's no personal responsibility when you're knocked silly...you can't make a judgement call then. Did anyone actually watch the game where McCoy got hit? We said at the time he looked like a damn zombie out there. He didn't know what he was doing, the doctors are supposed to be there to take care of these guys.

I don't get fans who pay so much money to watch these guys, profess their love of the team and what great people the players are for their charitable contributions and what they've done for the city, and then adamantly state that their job is to destroy their bodies for our entertainment.

The lawsuits aren't claiming that the players didn't know they would get beaten up playing football, they're claiming that the NFL didn't do enough to take care of them, provide good care, and keep them out of UNNECESSARY harm when possible.

When you make billions of dollars off of guys hurting themselves, you have a responsibility to provide good medical treatment and proper diagnosis of concussions.

Anyone who doesn't get that is a fan for the wrong reasons. It's a rough sport. It's not the Roman Coliseum.

 

[El Caliente]

So these guys don't have a right to complain is what people are saying? So does that take the right to complain from welders, construction workers, truckers, commercial fisherman and every other labor job? They play football, and make money, but not every player is a millionaire, and just because they play football doesnt mean they aren't like us.

Researchers are coming out with new facts about the long lasting effects of concussions well after playing days are done, so why are people acting like the players knew what they are getting in to?

 

[atceagle]

I wonder how many of these players were less than honest with those taking care of them in order to get back on the field. Nobody is talking about that. Up until a few years ago, there was no way to physically test for a concussion. You were simply going by what the player tells you they are experiencing. So while it was obvious to see a player take a big hit and suffer immediate and obvious symptoms, the guidelines when these players played was that if the symptoms cleared within 15 minutes, they were able to return to play. These guidelines have since been changed. Google "Zurich Consensus Statement" to see how concussions are now handled.

 

[atceagle]

Researchers are coming out with new facts about the long lasting effects of concussions well after playing days are done, so why are people acting like the players knew what they are getting in to?

Which means the medical field didn't know about the long lasting effects either and we still don't have all the answers.

 

[State Of Affairs]

I'm not naming any names but I'm friends with a former player who was injured. He was given some very bad information from the team doctors which, in any other industry, would have qualified as malpractice. (thisinformation led to him being injured again more severely) This terrible information cost him millions of dollars since his contract was cancelled and he was traded and was forced to re-sign at league minimum. He was unable to sue because the nfl has an employment contract that players must sign which impedes them from suing another employee of the nfl. He was shafted pretty badly and it's unfortunate that the doctor, the team, and the nfl can't be held accountable for what happened to him. That's my $.02

Now, if this was the case, I completely support the player.

 

[SaintKenKen]

Its obviously a complicated issue. I think the only viable solution to the issue would be to setup longterm healthcare for players...That being said, I think these two comments from the ESPN article are worth repeating...

"OverendWatts-
Roger Goodell will fine and suspend James Harrison for this."

"mdpinholster-
I think they should sue the guy that held the gun to their head and made them play football professionally.

I am a military Veteran that also happens to work in healthcare now...there are some "on the job risks" involved with certain jobs.

It is called assumed and implied risk."

 

[SaintRob39]

Well we sure know who the attorneys are.

 

[atceagle]

Concussion Grading Scales Have Been Abandoned | MomsTeam

Here is a decent link to how concussions were treated in the 90's. Also understand there wasn't one standard to follow unlike now with the Zurich statement.