CNN: 2,000 players unify in suing NFL over head injuries (1 Viewer)

[DavidM]

2,000 players unify in suing NFL over head injuries

A unified lawsuit on behalf of more than 2,000 National Football League players has been filed against the league in federal court alleging that the NFL failed to acknowledge and address neurological risks associated with the sport and then deliberately failed to tell players about the risks they faced, according to attorneys representing former players.

The complaint, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, unites the more than 80 pending lawsuits filed against the NFL.

“I firmly believe the NFL could have and should have done more to protect Ray. That’s why I am seeking to hold the NFL accountable,” Mary Ann Easterling, widow of former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling, who committed suicide in April after suffering for years from dementia, said in a press release. “Having lived through Ray’s struggle, I desperately hope and pray others can be spared the pain and suffering we have endured – and still endure every day.”
2,000 players unify in suing NFL over head injuries

 

[whodatfever]

It'll be touch football by 2015

 

[DavidM]

2,000 ex-players join to sue NFL on head trauma

By Joseph A. Slobodzian
Thu, Jun. 7, 2012, 12:43 PM

Lawyers for former pro-football players who say they are suffering debilitating brain diseases because the NFL concealed the risks of repetitive brain concussions filed a master complaint Thursday against the league in federal court here that would cover hundreds of former players.

"Let's face it and be honest. I feel like the NFL has over the past couple of decades, or at least until '08 or '09, kind of turned a blind eye to the seriousness of . . . concussive hits," said Kevin Turner, a former running back for the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots diagnosed with amyotropic lateral sclerosis, known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

"I want this game to be around and be a great sport, a sport that my own boys will be able to play and enjoy all the benefits that football has," said Turner.

2,000 ex-players join to sue NFL on head trauma

 

[SAINTIN NEBR]

i feel bad for them but there's apart of me that says.. "you know the risk when you sign the contract" or even before, going back to peewee footbal.. but I also can see the arguement about the lack of institutional control over things like diagnosis or equipment upgrades. I 'm just rambling.. thinking out loud..

 

[jayhawk66]

I give it a day before the NFL responds by punishing us some more for this.

Because we caused all those concussions and injuries. We just did. They have evidence.

 

[BoNcHiE]

Kiss the league goodbye if they prevail.

 

[St.YAT]

I am ready for the NFL to tank. I am happy going out like the champions we are. The nfl brought it on itself.

 

[sam rey]

i feel bad for them but there's apart of me that says.. "you know the risk when you sign the contract" or even before, going back to peewee footbal.. but I also can see the arguement about the lack of institutional control over things like diagnosis or equipment upgrades. I 'm just rambling.. thinking out loud..

I agree with you on both counts. I think that I fall more on the side of the player precisely because most guys start playing at t PeeWee level. Once they achieve any success or just experience the joy of the game, they are literally hooked. What player who had the skills would voluntarily leave the game? Sure, there are exceptions, but most guys go until they're cut, or their bodies fail, or both. They're playing a game they love, and one they've played their entire lives. If ever there was a group of people who are vulnerable to being exploited it's these guys. All, I'm saying is let them have their day in court to prove their case. If they can't prove it, then there's nothing lost. And you know, they're providing entertainment for us. I always think of Steve Gleason when I hear ragging on the players for suing the NFL. We've seen what lengths the league will go manipulate the facts of a case.

 

[saintfan-n-alex]

If head trauma is the head stopping before the brain can helmets prevent that ?

 

[meily]

It'll be touch football by 2015

There will be NO Football by 2015...they'll go bankrupt...why arent these guys suing there highschools and colleges, they played football there too....NFL will pay up but after that they have to come up with some type of waiver thats signed...just a bunch of guys trying to get paid...I understand, but damn!!

 

[sam rey]

If head trauma is the head stopping before the brain can helmets prevent that ?

Great point, and of course, I'm not qualified to answer. But it does bring into play Ridell's role in this. And I don't mean they made a defective product. But, perhaps the design does more to make the helmet a weapon than a piece of protective gear. Lol, I'm way out of my depths here. I just want the game to survive, and the men who play it, to have a reasonable chance of living a heathy life when their playing days are done.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Kiss the league goodbye if they prevail.

disagree.. i don't think it has to be either/or.. if the players prevail, it'll of course cost the NFL a crapload of $$, more than most of us can even comprehend-- and they will drastically change the game in re. to safety aspects, but not end the game entirely.. if you thought that they coddled QBs too much now-- they'll be coddling every player, for sure.. but that doesn't mean that the game has to end.. besides, doesn't the League pull in mutliple Billions of dollars per yr? So even if they award $10 billion (arbitrary number)-- the league would give up a year's profits but still have every other year's profits, and then continue to make money into the future.. this isn't the death knell.

 

[Mr. Blue Sky]

i feel bad for them but there's apart of me that says.. "you know the risk when you sign the contract" or even before, going back to peewee footbal..

i keep hearing that and, no offense, but it's a ridiculous argument.. if-- huge IF-- the NFL had data to suggest that the injuries being suffered by its players resulted in dementia or ALS at 40 yrs old-- then you can bet your *** that no one signed up for that.. but again, huge if.

 

[Fontenot]

Great point, and of course, I'm not qualified to answer. But it does bring into play Ridell's role in this. And I don't mean they made a defective product. But, perhaps the design does more to make the helmet a weapon than a piece of protective gear. Lol, I'm way out of my depths here. I just want the game to survive, and the men who play it, to have a reasonable chance of living a heathy life when their playing days are done.[/

Do you think that perhaps even die hard fans from the Conrad Dobler days are going to be swayed by the medical research evidence which,by all credible accounts, is devastatingly powerful? I think its possible our humanity could outweigh our fandom. From the physicians i have listened to, this issue isn't Farves ankle BS much ado about nothing hysteria, it's an agonizing spiral of dementia and suicidal depression and it is very, very real. I don't know if the lawsuit will be the game's death knell, but I'm convinced it will change the game forever. I wish I were a gifted engineer who could design some sort of concussion proof helmet.

 

[sam rey]

With a multi-billion dollar industry there is no shortage of incentive to engineer a more protective helmet, if in fact, one doesn't already exist. When it costs less to fix it then it does to avoid it, that's when solutions suddenly appear.