Jeremy Shockey rips Goodell on concussions
Jeremy Shockey says Roger Goodell has lied to NFL players about concussions. (AP photo)
“The no it all Rog goodell lied to every player and told us concussions will not effect us in life that a LIE!” Shockey tweeted late Sunday night.
“It would be great to give the health study on NFL players on a commercial during the games!! just want the fans and congress to know! FACT”
Shockey, 31, went on to talk about his own future.
“Science tells me I’ll be dead time in 54yrs old!! What would u do?”
More of Shockey’s tweets:
- “NFL stands for NOT for Long!! in the league and Life”
- “Its not fair how the nfl uses players then expects them to beat the odds in medical .#’s”
- “money is great fame is awesome but life is the most important”
It’s not clear if Shockey is referring to specific statements by Goodell, who took office in 2006, or the NFL in general.
For years the NFL contended that there was no scientific evidence that concussions affected a player’s long-term health, but the league changed that stance in 2009.
Since then the league has taken steps to improve monitoring of head injuries, including placing certified athletic trainers at all games to monitor players who suffer head injuries and the use of sideline replays on which doctors can review hits before clearing a player to return to action.
Hundreds of former NFL players have sued the league, claiming they were misled about the long-term effects of concussions.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
59 comments Add your comment
Hoohafan
July 30th, 2012
7:24 am
Duh….violent impacts, playing through injuries, mega millions….what do you expect. You’re an expendable commodity.
Tom
July 30th, 2012
8:02 am
Bless his heart. He tweeets as if he’s already been affected by brain injuries.
Hardhat
July 30th, 2012
8:07 am
I don’t see anyone forcing you to play. I am a lot older than Shockey and in high school in the 70’s a player who had a concussion always sat out at least one week. So I guess what Shockey is saying is he was too blinded by the money and fame to do his own homework. Please what this country’s main problem is reflected here in this story it is your responsibility to your own research.
I am all for the greedy owners and greedy players union to pony up and help out the past players with any type of disability sustained by the players in their playing days not just concussions. That would not only be the right thing to do. The millions that make should be spent on these older players. As you can tell I am not an NFL fan anymore.
Warner Robins DAWG
July 30th, 2012
8:08 am
Shut the hell up and play football, if you dont want to play then retire and let somebody who wants to make $$MILLIONS$$ playing a childs game play it. I cant stand these pansies that complain about head injuries all the time. YOU CHOSE TO GO TO THE NFL STUPID!!!
Rusty
July 30th, 2012
8:10 am
The NFL is working on making any hits whatsoever illegal contact. It will be flag football soon enough.
Beckham
July 30th, 2012
8:15 am
Play some real football.
The Grinch
July 30th, 2012
8:26 am
Shockey was a retarded moron long before his first concussion. He’s bitching now because he was washed up at 28 and can’t get a fat paycheck anymore.
Rusty
July 30th, 2012
8:27 am
What’s he blabbing about? At 31, he has the ability to hang it up, walk away, and never work again. No one’s making you play, Shockey.
wendell
July 30th, 2012
8:29 am
Now that the players know the risks, they have a choice whether or not to play.
If they are that concerned DON’T PLAY. Go out and get a job and earn a 40-50 hr per week living like everyone else.
Slip
July 30th, 2012
8:29 am
Textile workers, Coal miners (lungs), auto workers (noise and repetitive motion) and others who make a lot les than NFL player. JS is not wrong to complain about deception (assuming it was deception instead of denial), but work injury is something the employer should, a) fully disclose; b) take responsibility for future suffering of employee.
Joey
July 30th, 2012
8:33 am
So, if Goodell had personally visited every player drafted, and warned them about the dangers of concussions, none of those players would have signed a contract (worth $ millions), just gave up the game, and gone to work at the pulpmill? Yeah right.
Even now that much has been learned about concussions (thanks to Goodell), I have read of NO drafted football player turning down the NFL. Even worse, they constantly try to impede this issue by complaining about the penalties and fines resulting from hits to the head, leading with the head, etc.
Shockey will play this season too if he can catch on with a team, and will play until no team wants him.
Shockley is the real hypocrite.
Carz
July 30th, 2012
8:39 am
Based on his writing skills, these posts are more of a reason not to watch college football. This guy was never a student.
Spencer
July 30th, 2012
8:41 am
As if football players do not know what they are signing up for? Police officers sacrifice their life everyday for what, 50k?
Steve
July 30th, 2012
8:51 am
Point blank .. if you can’t take the beating then DON’T PLAY. No one is forcing you.
No one forces you to be a police officer, fireman, or a half dozaen other much more dangerous and less paying jobs .. but you don’t here them whining about the ‘mortality’ rates. They do it for a variety of reasons.
Shockey should just be thankful he had the DNA to make a ton of money doing something he enjoyed for most of his life. Precious few people can say that. He might notlive past 54, but he has made enough money to support his family for generations if he chooses to use the money correctly. That is what matters!
Samantha
July 30th, 2012
8:51 am
That is so sad.
itpdude
July 30th, 2012
8:54 am
Shockey says money and fame is nice but life is more important? He only says that now. Even with the info 10 years ago, Shockey would have played. NFL players not living long is not news. Shockey is upset that no team wants him.
Goodell
July 30th, 2012
8:56 am
Shockey, you made a decision to play football. No one twisted your arm. He has made millions and now he is whining like a baby (as usual). If Goodell said, Shockey, you are going to get a concussion, and you won’t be able to function in life once you retire, I guarantee you he would be the first on in line to sign up to play football. Shut up Shockey! Like Spencer said, police officers put there life on the line everyday.
Clewis564
July 30th, 2012
9:00 am
How come when anyone voices their opinion they are “ripping” or “blasting” the other person? Are these the only two words the media knows to try make things more sensational than they are?
HubbaHubba
July 30th, 2012
9:14 am
You forgot “slams,” Clewis564…I feel like every news article printed today has at least one of those three terms in it.
Ken Stallings
July 30th, 2012
9:16 am
Shockey is both right and wrong in his comments. He is right to say the NFL lied to the players and deliberately dismissed the threats of multiple concussions (especially a subsequent concussion prior to the previous one being gone from all effects). However, he is wrong to single out Roger Goodell over the issue.
Goodell is the first NFL Commissioner to have the courage to amend the basic rules of the NFL to try to eliminate these life-altering impacts. He has rammed down changes in rules on hitting the head region. He has also mandated post-concussion actions to prevent players running the risk of multiple simultaneously suffered concussions.
Now, where Goodell is complicit, and where even Shockey fails to directly address Goodell’s culpability, is in his insistance that the NFL continue to fight the ongoing class action lawsuit filed by former players and their families. Frankly, the NFL has no defense and should have done the right thing by these players a long time ago. Goodell is morally wrong in this case.
NateDawg
July 30th, 2012
9:18 am
I was ready to post, ripping into Shockey, but it looks like you guys have it covered. On one hand, you have players complaining Goodell is making football too soft. On the other, players are complaining about concussions as if they had no ideal repetitive blows to the head might cause problems. What a waste of college degrees.
Ken Stallings
July 30th, 2012
9:19 am
Another insightful list of posts by people, with nearly everyone expressing a complete lack of humanity in their comments. During the era of the Roman empire, you’d be cheering loudly and pointing your thumbs up demanding the losing gladiator be killed!
It’s one thing to cheer for athletics. It is entirely another to openly cheer for peoples’ destruction!
Shame on you!
marks
July 30th, 2012
9:24 am
Duh, I am constantly amazed at how people blame others for their own decisions. Shockley is unaware that football is a “violent” sport? Really?
Beau Bock
July 30th, 2012
9:28 am
Put your dress on and stay off the field you puss! He’s just one of many trying to put their name in the hat for a “money grab”. How big of an idiot does someone have to be to not know that repeated blows to the head and concussions are not good. Yet we have morons like Ryan Stewart, who supposedly has a Ga. Tech education trying to sue the NFL because nobody “told” him getting hit in the head was a bad thing. I figured that out all by myself at an early age.
James
July 30th, 2012
9:30 am
I’m sorry that some NFL players have suffered brain injuries as a result of them playing football. But come on, surely they knew the risks involved, that football is a contact sport. They sure didn’t mind taking the “big bucks”, so they accepted the risks. Don’t try to blame others!! I’ts shameful!!
Old Physics Teacher
July 30th, 2012
9:33 am
Let’s see some facts:
1965 National Champion Alabama Football team had their “weak” guard at 5′11″ and 165 lbs. He was an awsome blocker. He played with METAL cleats; was allowed to chop AND crack-back block; could NOT extend his arms past 3 inches in front of his body. The receivers could be hit downfield AT ANY TIME AND ANY PLACE prior to the ball being thrown. Clothesline tackles and full body blocks were allowed. Games lasted 2 hours. The scores were 7-3; 10-7; or a game with wide open offences would end in a score of 21-14.
current rules: The dainty receivers can only be “touched” within the first 5 yards of the line of scrimmage, and if they’re hit too hard, there’s a penalty. They come across the middle with impunity and dance in the end zones.
The blockers can extend their arms and essentially hold the defender from getting to the quarterback.
Scores of 48-24 are common, because “the fams” want scoring.
Guys the size of Shockley didn’t play football in the past, because they would have been killed by the smaller players! The first time he lined up, one of the defensive tackles would have hit him in his weak knees (cube-square law — look it up) and he would have decided football wasn’t his sport.
Super fast skinny players with skinny legs didn’t play either. The first time they came across the middle in high school practice, one of the smaller players would have taken them out with a clothes-line. While he was laying there gasping, the safety would say, “Kid don’t come in here again, or it’ll be even worse!”
Analysis:
All these problems of football players: steroids, HGH, concussions, shorter life expectancy are directly attributable to the rules changes which allowed higher scoring games and more revenue for the owners, players, AND THE TRUE CAUSE OF IT ALL — THE NETWORKS! If the rules would not have been changed to allow more offense, the defensive players (with their currense size and speed) would not have even got past high school level sports. They would have been chop-blocked back into the stands. Because of the rule change, the defensive players got bigger, which forced more rule changes which made it more easible for larger offensive players to become available. which now promoted the current crop of ex-NFL linemen walking around with canes because of their bad knees (cube-square law again).
Conclusions:
We, the fans, wanted more scoring and faster collisions. We are culpable. HOWEVER, any athelete who claims, “I didn’t know!” is also culpable in that he was either too blind to the danger, or he really did know what he was getting into (and is now trying to deny it). There’s an old expression using in street racing – “speed kills!” The faster you go, the more likely you (and your opponent) will get hurt. It applies in all sports.
Becky
July 30th, 2012
9:38 am
Bless hi heart..It’s hard to feel sorry for all of these football players, when they aren’t smart enough to remember something that we all learn in oh, 3rd, 4th grade? Of heck, even earlier..DON’T hit other people in the head, it’s dangerous..
As Steve said, police officers, firemen and military people put their life on the line every day for a lot less money..Has he never seen the military people that come home with no legs or arms and they live off not even a third of what this guy earns.. You can call me rude or whatever, but it’s really hard for me to feel bad for these guys..Get a normal” job and live on $50,000 or less each year..
LawDawg
July 30th, 2012
9:49 am
Shockey was brain-damaged long before coming to the NFL. Go back in your hole now.
Ted Striker
July 30th, 2012
9:51 am
Hard to respect comments when a guy sounds like he’s drunk-tweeting and can’t tell the difference between “Know” and “no” and “effect” and “affect.”
shaggy
July 30th, 2012
9:57 am
I guess Shockey just figured out that having huge men, place violent hits on you, for enormous amounts of money, just might be a little dangerous. If he had known, he would have become a cardiologist…after all, he is so freakin smart and observant.
Mike Geigerman
July 30th, 2012
10:02 am
Gladiators.. Some things go with the territory like big paydays and lots of risks. We call it the game of life.
Rick James
July 30th, 2012
10:14 am
Nobody could ever convince me that repeatly getting concussions would not effect me later in life.At some point you have to admit to being stupid for believing this or that the risk was worth the money.There was also the option to do what Asher Allen of the Vickings just did after two years..Quit playing..
JG
July 30th, 2012
10:14 am
Hey Jeremy, use some of your millions to do your own research or better yet quit while your ahead and use it to fund some of those idiots you have played with that have squandered millions and are now bankrupt!
Bill
July 30th, 2012
10:21 am
That’s why their compensation is so high. It’s a risky job. If they don’t like the risk, switch careers. Simple.
Animal Control
July 30th, 2012
10:25 am
Good job moron! It couldnt possibly be your fault for not using common sense, so blame it on the NFL commisioner so you might be able to get a little money out of something that you should be responsible for. This is why I hate watching professional sports. It’s always someone elses problem. What happened to personal responsibility?!
Antwoine A. in Atlanta
July 30th, 2012
10:33 am
Coming to this realization so long after Shockley made it to the NFL is my only problem with his statements. This does not invalidate what Shockey is saying… it flies in the face of it. The NFL is the greatest game played on the greatest stage because of the contact. Football was, is and will forever be a “CONTACT SPORT”. Without the contact… the NFL is simply not worth the time of the atletes or the price of the ticket.
Ward
July 30th, 2012
10:40 am
For those who never played the game, you don’t actually feel most hits to the head when you’re wearing today’s helmets. I remember some brutal hits that didn’t phase me in the least, so it’s easy to see why many players thought they were protected. I thought I was protected. It turns out that the helmet does protect the integrity of your bone structure (the skull), but the movement of the brain inside of your head is what causes problems later in life. Again, you don’t always feel that. The NFL knew better and hid the evidence for many years. They are completely in the wrong.
Ward
July 30th, 2012
10:43 am
Rick James – Asher Allen quit the game now that the evidence the NFL had for many years has been made public. They sat on that evidence and denied many players access to the information so they could make informed decisions.
Yogi
July 30th, 2012
10:53 am
so it is..fools born every day
BradB
July 30th, 2012
10:54 am
@ Yogi, it’s Shockey, youre getting your NFL and UGA football mixed up
woodrow
July 30th, 2012
10:59 am
Why would a football player play a game they know is dangerous then complain about it after they retire? You think all that violence will not take its toll on your health? I personally think no one should play football. It’s preposterous to risk your health for a stupid game. It’s even worse to encourage children to do that.
Yogi
July 30th, 2012
10:59 am
lol
Yogi
July 30th, 2012
11:03 am
Its not for the stupid game.. its for the money $$$$$
Blame the NFL,Unions, and schools but its $$$
Saints R.E.A.M.
July 30th, 2012
11:10 am
So from reading Shockey’s tweets……I’m sure we all can agree that he is going to retire IMMEDIATELY! Right??? uh…..well…….as long as no team offers him 3 million to play this season that is!!
Stupid is as stupid does...
July 30th, 2012
11:17 am
I agree. Let’s turn the NFL into a flag football league and then pay the players what the market warrants for that sport.
Jeremy Shockey rips Roger Goodell in Twitter rant about health of NFL players | Larry Brown Sports
July 30th, 2012
11:50 am
[...] to 2009, the NFL took the stance that there was no scientific evidence to support the claim that head injuries affected the long-term health of players. That stance [...]
DawgNole
July 30th, 2012
11:54 am
Ken Stallings
July 30th, 2012
9:19 am
Another insightful list of posts by people, with nearly everyone expressing a complete lack of humanity in their comments. During the era of the Roman empire, you’d be cheering loudly and pointing your thumbs up demanding the losing gladiator be killed!
It’s one thing to cheer for athletics. It is entirely another to openly cheer for peoples’ destruction!
Shame on you!
_____________________
Quit preaching, you arrogant, condescending, know-it-all dirtbag! Nobody needs your morality crammed down their throats.
26belly
July 30th, 2012
11:57 am
the “Old Physics Teacher” said it best, especially in the Conclusions paragraph.
I’m won’t join the bandwagon and demonize J. Shockey. Even in high school back in the early 80’s we knew how to “protect” ourselves and how to “push it” to the limit when we needed to. Yes, that was the sandlot compared to the professional ranks but Shockey should know that professional football has a limited life span. He’s no idiot by any means, Shockey is smart. I wish the NFLPA would contribute their part and a Federal Court would pinch the NFL to set aside $$ for the veteran players who made the sport what it once was, not the charade it is today. The sun is setting on the horizon for the NFL!
Chris
July 30th, 2012
12:10 pm
Perhaps Shockey should have consulted a doctor instead of the NFL Commissioner to determine what effects concussions might have on him later in life.
Pimp C
July 30th, 2012
12:15 pm
Shockey, your a bigger idiot than you appear to look like. Go get another tatoo and maybe you will feel better. Moron…..
Larry J
July 30th, 2012
12:32 pm
Isn’t this the same commissioner that wanted an 18 game season? Hummmm! Must have forgotten about that little concussion thing mentioned in 2009. Just saying.
Delbert D.
July 30th, 2012
1:07 pm
The question is, would people (the example being Shockey) be willing to do it while knowing the risk of losing 1/3 of a normal life in exchange for millions of dollars? The urge begins early, and so does the damage. It is accelerated at the college and professional level by the frequency and magnitude of the impact of the collisions.
mgdawg
July 30th, 2012
1:15 pm
Judging from his tweets, shockey is already experiencing problems.
Having said that, who knows if goodell knew or did not know the long term implications of concussions. New studies are coming out every year and the old way of doing things is being questioned more and more.
I am an athletic trainer and the biggest problem I have as far as concussion prevention, diagnosis, and management are the current and former NFL players, as well as some of the parents. All these NFL guys coming out and saying they would hide symptoms or wouldn’t get checked out isn’t helping things. There was a Dallas Cowboy last year that was caught on camera yelling at the athletic trainer because he was being held out of a game because of a suspected concussion. Then they will turn around once they retire and sue the NFL when they admit to lying to their medical staff. For those of you saying that the NFL should set aside money for future medical bills of these players, they are making millions. Maybe they should require that a certain amount of their pay check be put in a fund for medical bills.
One more story, this happened last week at the high school where I am currently working. Last week at the start of the week we gave out equipment and I my job was to put air in the helmets and make sure they fit. One of the kids walked in and said he didn’t need any air, there was none in the helmet and it was lose. I put the minimum amount into the helmet and it fit good. A couple of days later he’s practicing and begins complaining his helmet was too tight, he had never had air in his helmet before. I told him he’ll get used to it, and he kept complaining. During one of the breaks one of the parents brought him over there and told me to take air out, I refused stating my reasons and my credentials and work experience. The parent begins arguing and yelling with me. As much as I enjoy my jobs and believe that sports are great, parents like that who put a sport above a kids safety really make me question things.
Rick James
July 30th, 2012
1:49 pm
@Ward
Playing full tilt in an NFL game is like being in 25 minor traffic accidents.Are you saying that only the NFL knew that this would effect players long term health? Do you know how many players lied about their conditions so they wouldnt have to leave games? 15 years ago all you had to do was look at the health conditions of retired players and that says enough.All of sudden players smell money and want to say its the NFL’s fault because they didnt tell us..It’s moronic
Beau Bock
July 30th, 2012
2:07 pm
Note to Ward. Duh!!!
funnyman
July 30th, 2012
2:37 pm
gimme a break…whining NFLers…SHUT UP ALREADY…you’re all just really “PO’d” that you “can’t have your cake and eat it too”!…Meaning, “make your millions in a high risk, celebrity based career that pays a helluva lot of money to knock other people off their pins for a career of weeks, months or years and then suffer no consequences of accepting any of that risk”. If you are all so scared, QUIT!! Just cash it in and “retire” with your millions and UNION money!! Funny, you don’t hearing the “coal miners” crying!! They KNOW they make GREAT MONEY and absorb the risk of LIFE AND DEATH going IN THE MINES!!! You ALL knew the risk of significant injury and/or short careers BEFORE you started playing AT AGE ABOUT 9 or 10 YEARS OLD!!!…FINE…you don’t want the risk anymore…just shut up and quit BUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP CRYING about it!!
Sterling
July 30th, 2012
4:40 pm
Did Goodell put a gun to his head and force him to choose the NFL as a career? He went to college… he’s suppose to be fairly intelligent and there are other jobs out there. He choose this path. Did he really think his body wouldn’t take a beating? It’s just another case of someone not accepting any responsibility for their own decisions. He could probably have been a kindergarden teacher and had a much safer career.
Casey
July 30th, 2012
4:45 pm
What a moron! CLOWN! What does this fool want the league to do about concussions? It is a violent, dangerous occupation. So is deep sea fishing. If it is so terrible, then quit! Try getting a real job like the rest of us, jerk!
itpdude
July 30th, 2012
9:22 pm
In a country where the bottom 25% lives significantly shorter lives than the top 25%, and do so with a far different lifestyle and take poor paying jobs that are extremely risky, it’s hard to feel sorry for the whiny millionaire.
Shockey didn’t want to be a garbageman. Judging from his grammar and spelling (how do these guys get into decent universities in the first place?), that’s where he was heading.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Without sanitation workers, we’d be eye-deep in garbage. But those sanitation workers have challenging and risky jobs that don’t pay what Shockey got paid.
Whiny baby millionaire.