Ray Easterling’s widow pushing for change in NFL
Ray Easterling played eight seasons with the Falcons in the 1970s, but brain trauma may have led to his suicide. (AP photo)
She tried to think back to life before her husband first started suffering from sleepless nights and depression, before the memory loss and the dementia, before the suicide.
“The first part of our marriage in Atlanta and Richmond, Ray was wonderful,” Mary Ann Easterling said Thursday. “He was the life of the party. There was always an excuse to get up in the morning. Then when the insomnia and the depression hit, it was like the light went off. The switch was flicked. He no longer enjoyed being around the family. He no longer enjoyed doing the things he always enjoyed.”
It has been seven weeks since former Falcons safety Ray Easterling, 62, was found dead in his Richmond home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The suicide came eight months after the first in a flurry of concussion-related lawsuits against the NFL, a list that has grown to 86 suits, approximately 2,308 former players and 3,400 plaintiffs (including family members).
Easterling’s name was at the top of that initial suit. It follows that, in death, he has become the face for possible change in the NFL.
A master complaint was filed Thursday morning in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania. The expected administrative move consolidates the cases in hopes of streamlining the litigation process, a complex paper chase expected to last at least several months.
Two of the plaintiffs were on a conference call Thursday: Easterling’s widow, Mary Ann, and former running back Kevin Turner, who played for Philadelphia and New England and also suffers from ALS.
Turner has arranged to have his brain and spinal cord donated to science when he dies. He said he is not trying to “bring down” the NFL and even would support his sons playing pro football. But he believes the league “turned a blind eye to concussions and the cumulative effect of those. Ten years after retirement, I thought I had just turned into a loser over night. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.”
For 20 years, Mary Ann Easterling dealt with her husband’s mood swings, forgetfulness and anger issues. She said it wasn’t until five years ago when she made a “neurological” connection to the symptoms.
“His memory started to go,” she said. “He couldn’t organize anything. … He would forget where he put things. He was always late to appointments. He lost control of his hands. Then he was diagnosed with dementia.”
You will hear several more stories like this in the coming months. The NFL has long denied knowledge of covering up evidence of long-term effects of concussions. But in the court of public opinion, this will not be an easy battle to win, and my guess is commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners know that.
In the 88-page master complaint, plaintiffs are seeking, “a declaration of liability, injunctive relief, medical monitoring, and financial compensation for the long-term chronic injuries, financial losses, expenses, and intangible losses suffered by the Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs’ Spouses as a result of the Defendants’ intentional tortious misconduct, including fraud, and intentional misrepresentation and negligence.”
The suit charges, among other things, that the NFL, “was aware of the evidence and the risks associated with repetitive traumatic brain injuries virtually at its inception, but deliberately ignored and actively concealed the information …”
The NFL has denied knowledge of covering up any evidence of long-term effects of concussions.
Mary Ann Easterling and Turner are pushing for a greater awareness of the effects of concussions and support for players and their families. They also want tighter restrictions on those who suffer head injuries during their careers.
Turner recalled a game when he got knocked unconscious: “I came to on the sideline and asked [a teammate], ‘Are we in Green Bay or Philadelphia?’ If you can’t tell the difference between Lambeau Field and [Veterans Stadium], you’re in trouble. I sat out for 10 or 15 minutes, then I went back in.”
Mary Ann said “home life was peaceful” for the early years of their marriage. She talked about meeting her husband at Bible study. She spoke a little longer, then choked up and the conference call went silent for several seconds, stopped and started again twice.
“I’m concerned about former players who have symptoms and those who will have symptoms,” she said, later. “Their wives and their families should know that help and hope will be available to them.”
Not all stories end as tragically as Easterling’s, but the tragic ones often become the impetus for change.
Previous columns related to NFL concussions
– Goodell not fazed by Vilma’s lawsuit, Saints’ blather
– Former players more worried about concussions than current ones
– Bounties: They’re wrong, and Vilma, Saints, NFLPA just don’t get it
– Bounties: NFL violence isn’t the same as premeditated assault
By Jeff Schultz
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71 comments Add your comment
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
3:18 pm
EAZY fix and the Players and players union will not like it.
1. either take away protective equipment so the players don’t RISK the KILL SHOT.
2. Players can ONLY play 35 plays per game. Double the number of players on the roster and pay each half as much.
NFL games average 62 plays per game so make players play only 35 plays. If a player is hurt then he sits and another player comes in until he plays 35 plays.
The QBs only get 35 plays and instead of $10 million per year they get $3.333 Million cause you have to pay 3 QBs. 2 play the game and a 3rd has to be there in case one is hurt.
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
3:32 pm
HOW STUPID do you have to be to NOT KNOW that putting your body through Car Crashes everyday for many years you will not SUFFER LONG TERM EFFECTS. Players were PAID better than most fans for doing their JOB.
PICK another JOB or shut up.
WHAT did the NFL need to tell these GUYS?
With the Knowledge from Science would PLAYERS have made the CHOICE to use that College Degree they got to get to the NFL to work instead?
Techman
June 7th, 2012
3:36 pm
I’m not sure who you are talking to, Schultzie, but most reasonable people understand that running full steam into other people who are running full steam could potentially be detrimental to your health.
While sympathetic to anyone who is going through what these players are going through, a reasonable person (IMO) would deduce these men knew what they doing was not healthy. They didn’t have an issue with it as long as they were getting great compensation.
Also, if all of these suicides are attributable to football, why have they just now started happening in bunches?
Ostrich Racer
June 7th, 2012
3:37 pm
Here’s hoping that, between the attention being paid to the NFL’s issues, and all the research the armed forces have done into concussive injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, science can come up with some relief for their pain.
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
3:52 pm
What should we do to COMPENSATE police S.W.A.T members? They have to suffer from PTSD with all the Intense situations they have to deal with and the IMAGE in their head of actually taking the KILL SHOT.
What should we do for Garbage Collectors that are afraid of DOGS because they were BIT and now have problems every time the see a dog?
Ken Stallings
June 7th, 2012
4:33 pm
UOAD, I have read callous attitudes in the past, but your writings here are beyond that. Pathetic and cruel only cover the half of it!
The NFL knew the risks and hid them from the players. Putting a man back on the football field within 15 minutes of being knocked unconcious is reckless. The game has changed since then. It should have changed back then. The reason it did not is because the NFL hid the medical data that showed that it takes multiple concussions, or worse follow-on concussive blows before recovering from a previous one, to cause the sort of dementia and mental health issues players like Easterling suffered from.
Schultz’s column made that point crystal clear. Comments like from UOAD show foolishness and sophomoric rantings!
Techman
June 7th, 2012
4:45 pm
I may not like how 5150 UOAD makes his point but that doesn’t make it any less valid. Again, sympathies to the family but let’s not pretend these guys thought they would be gardening for a living.
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
5:01 pm
Ken Stallings.
I went to visit an Ex-Tech and Chicago Player. He is very much lost in his own mind. He did however make a great life off Football for his family.
If ASKED, how many players would say Coach I don’t want to play?
Contracts are based on games and stat and players EGOS make them WANT to PLAY.
G.I. Jane……………….Are You HURT or are You INJURED?
I would feel a little different if I NEVER PLAYED.
The PLAYERS WANT to play UNLESS they know they can’t play.
The mentality is scary cause EVERYBODY called the BEARS QB a Puzzzzz when he didn’t play after he was hurt but seemed OK.
I would also think differently if this were the old U.S.S.R and a person was told your are a Football Player and you are a Coal minor, but that is not the case.
Like WALL STREET………….there is a RISK REWARD involved in choosing to invest in the MARKET or the NFL.
Hillbilly D
June 7th, 2012
6:18 pm
Mine’s probably not the popular few but I don’t think it’s right to take advantage of people, even if they go along with letting you do it. The powers that be in football knew, and still know, that if they pressure guys to play, they’ll play.
I remember Dick Butkus once saying that he never practiced the last couple of years that he played. He said that you’d think he would’ve had sense enough to know that if he wasn’t able to practice, he wasn’t able to play. He said they’d tell him that he was better hurt than anybody else was healthy and as he said, “I ate it up”.
Firsttimer
June 7th, 2012
6:37 pm
Football did not start in the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s. Players played the game in leather helmets with no face masks, not an issue. Head slaps from pass rushers, horse collar tackles, head shots were all legal at one time. Not an issue. Suddenly, big bad football is destroying lives? I smell an alternative motive from most of these former players. And how about the people suffering from Dimentia, Alzheimer’s, and other brain/memory related issues. Do we not care because they never played a down? SO OVER THIS TOPIC and MEDIA DRAMATIZATION.
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
6:43 pm
Hillbilly D…………would those same players take 1/2 as much money to have 3 times as many players on the team so when somebody is hurt they can sit out and not make their Stats to get the Big Bonuses?
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
6:45 pm
Hind-site is 20/20, but Mama’s new home, the 3 new cars in the mansion driveway and my Boys partying with me is TODAY.
Hillbilly D
June 7th, 2012
6:54 pm
5150
The teams would fight a limit on plays for a player just as hard as anybody. You think NE isn’t going to raise hell if Brady can’t play every down? You think Green Bay won’t raise hell if Aaron Rogers has to sit out part of the game? Your premise is flawed, in my opinion.
5150 UOAD
June 7th, 2012
7:00 pm
Hillbilly D…………..Exactly………NFL players DON’T want it fixed. VAGAS and the betters would SCREAM too. Make players play on 35 plays a game and if a player is HURT he can sit, but the BIG MONEY players will cry even more than they are about the late life injuries.
JSS
June 7th, 2012
7:07 pm
So before this way off topic (its headed there), I personally know Tommy Hart and Julius Adams (look them up)… Known both men since the day I can remember… They always told us kids about the seedy side of the NFL 9especially the lack of truthfulness from NFL medical and training staffs (they are two different things)… I always remember either seeing Julius in Boston or back home in Macon and seeing the toll that it was taking on his body… The mind thing did not catch my attention until they introduced me the former Colts great Jim Parker! It was astounding, the league lied to these men on a daily basis. This not about a lot of the side issues that some continue to hound on on this blog… This case revolves around the deception that the NFL used to get players to perform, risk, and then denied that had done by diagnosis and by medical misinformation of diagnosis head injuries and neurological matters. They’ll have to produce data to refute when they show those slides of the damage. And if the family of Wille Wood and Tom Keating roll them into court and let the plaintiffs lawyers show them to a jury, then come and harp of “they knew the risk!”
Hillbilly D
June 7th, 2012
7:17 pm
JSS
Good points. Not sure exactly how old you are but I think you and I both are old enough to have heard the line, “better football through chemistry”. I have a friend whose brother ruined his knee at the college level (won’t name the school but it’s one everybody knows), from being shot up at halftime and sent back out. No telling what all went on in the NFL.
Race horses get treated better than some of these guys have.
Festus
June 7th, 2012
7:51 pm
If you eliminate tackle and replace it with flag football how much interest do you think there would be? Boxers and football players understand there is a risk factor. That why they get all the attention, money and hot women. This isn’t going anywhere because violence is what people enjoy. Why else would one watch an auto race which is basically red necks driving in circles. Wish we had bull fights here in Atlanta. Now that’s really a turn on.
Firsttimer
June 7th, 2012
8:51 pm
Race horces don’t get to choose if they want to race. There are probably cases where players were encouraged to get back in the game. There are probably cases where players insisted on getting back in the game when they knew they should not be playing. There is no way of proving deception on the leagues part. Realistically, it would not benefit the owners, or the league to hide facts from a player. When you sign that player to a contract, it is usually for several years. That player becomes an investment. Think about it..we all take care of our investments. Owners would not want to lose an impact player by lying to him to get an extra game or two out of him. The league would not want it’s superstars endangered it would destroy the league. In a violent game there will be some unhappy endings. Unfortunate, but point blank. Prize fighters take far more blows to the brain, who is educating them on the perils of their profession?
Firsttimer
June 7th, 2012
8:53 pm
Typo..should read race horses.
doc
June 7th, 2012
9:17 pm
the issue is not as much as did the player know but when did they know, how bad was it and did the players get informed what the appropriate treatment should be? identification of injury and proper assessment and protocol after the injury is what is finally happening. that was not the actions of the past. it is now out of the trainers and physicians hands and the care is from an arbitrary source without connection to the team.
some here that argue their points have no answer for my first question and that is where the liability starts. it is not whether guys go in knowing they could get injured nor how much money they made. it is more did they get proper treatment. it is not so much do players know the effects of the sport but really did they get injured, when, how bad and did it get cared for properly, like a bone fracture. players get ankle sprains cared for better than head injuries historically and that is just flat frigging wrong and why there is a law suit.
no one arguing against the lawsuit but merely arguing their bias and agenda can really give a rational response to these points of if there was recognition and appropriate treatment. as they know it is very true. it is the responsibility of any business to be aware of how it puts their employees in the way of harm and what should be the best action if injured. that conscionable stance was overlooked here.
as a trauma doc, i have looked on with horror as the hits get more violent and we yell louder knowing the true long term efects of each and every one of those hits and any hit to the head not identified and treated right if the player gets hit while healing the deficits are much greater. the brain also doesnt heal period, never, ever to baseline.
Beau Bock
June 7th, 2012
9:56 pm
What kind of idiot needs to be told by the NFL that it’s not good for you to to get your head bashed repeatedly. I think I would figure that out rather quickly. This is all just a money grab by a bunch of guys who probably squandred their money away. I even see Ryan Stewart is involved in this. When did he ever hit anyone or get hit? As for this Easterling guy I keep reading about and his mood swings, does anyone stop to consider the man may have just been a dick.
ex-Jock
June 7th, 2012
10:12 pm
Sad as it seems; by the time this bounty mess is resolved; the NFL will be exonerated. The bottom line is; maybe there should better aftercare fro NFL vets, but let’s be honest; all the post free agency (90’s) vets involved in this litigation are cowards. Ray Easterling never earned more than $75K per year. Ryan Stewart et al are being pimped by lawyers. I feel for Easterling’s widow, Alxa Karras, et al; but this case exposes the fallacy of the NFL players “union”
Boo Boo
June 7th, 2012
11:48 pm
Return to leather helmets. Tie belts around all the playes and have colorful flags velcro-ed at two places on the belt. Anyone caught running with the football is down if one flag is pulled off and thrown on the ground. Pay the players so much less they can’t afford designer steroids, and let the fans in for a dollar. Free self-parking in the gravel parking lot. Bring you own hot dogs, charcoal, etc. and make a day of going to the game. At the end, everyone shakes hands and goes home. Players all go to work at a real job on Monday morning.
NFL Hid Link Between Football-Related Head Trauma and Permanent Brain Injuries … – Seattle Post Intelligencer | Sports News
June 8th, 2012
12:07 am
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution [...]
boykin
June 8th, 2012
1:37 am
3:18 UOAD…Stop listening to talk radio…this is absurd!
boykin
June 8th, 2012
3:16 am
5150: What ex-Tech player?
facebook promotion
June 8th, 2012
7:17 am
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Jimmy Crack
June 8th, 2012
7:37 am
WAIVERS! Get yer waivers here!
New sign over all NFL team headquarters…”CAUTION: ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK”.
New sign at all Florida beaches…”CAUTION: THE SUN CAN BE DANGEROUS”
New sign at all restaurants…”CAUTION: EAT AT YOUR OWN RISK”
5150 UOAD
June 8th, 2012
7:57 am
boykin….None of your business but he was very famous and you would know the name.
JSS
June 8th, 2012
8:26 am
@ Hillbilly…
49… Julius played in front on my uncle on the D-line at old Ballard Hudson before they broke up the schools to integrate the Bibb County schools. Hart married into my Mom’s family…
JSS
June 8th, 2012
8:34 am
And my uncle had the same thing happen to him in HS before the 1969 State AAA South semi-finals… They shot him up and then he lost a chance for a scholarship at Auburn…
Redcoat
June 8th, 2012
8:43 am
You take the risk of injury and/or death when you wake up each day…….decisions you make for yourself have consequences. No one is different. Why is it that the league can “hide” this info? Did they do it in secret? Does the union accept responsibility for not doing there own study? Are the players going to sue the union too?
Redcoat
June 8th, 2012
8:45 am
their*
5150 UOAD
June 8th, 2012
8:49 am
Dope Smoking has Serious Health Risks but that doesn’t seem to STOP Pro Athletes from Loving the Wacky Weed.
Phil
June 8th, 2012
8:57 am
Every person who climbs into a race car, puts on a pair of boxing gloves, or puts on a football helmet
knows the risks involved. Yet the opportunity for glory and way above average earnings trump the
possible risks. All of these athletes know this from the time they are in grade school.
Jimmy Crack
June 8th, 2012
9:18 am
More Brains!!!
All the NFL has to do is get permission ($$) to exhume some recently deceased ex-college football players who never played in the NFL (due to a variety of reasons…not good enough, bad knees, bad back) and see if those brains have similar damage to what was found in Duerson’s brain.
Case dismissed.
Stank Wren
June 8th, 2012
9:26 am
I find it a little funny that I read 2 articles on Jamal Lewis here in the A J C in the last week. The first article was about how Jamal had joined the concussion lawsuit. A few days later I read a story on here about how he has p*ssed away millions of dollars in and is filing for bankrupcty. I see this issue turning into a money grab for a lot of broke ex-players.
Bobcat
June 8th, 2012
9:32 am
5150 UOAD–Many months ago I sent a letter to ESPN explaining to them that reducing the safety equipment would automatically reduce the extreme violence in the NFL. A couple of weeks ago I sent the same letter to Schultz. In both cases, no response. The reason is the NFL, Players Union, ESPN, and AJC writers all make money on the extreme violence.
If you reduce the violence then fan interest lessens. ESPN and other sports shows reduce their programming by about a third (loss of revenue) and Schultz along with the other writers have nothing to write about except the actual game. How many times have you watched ESPN to see the hits from Sunday’s games, or a batter getting beaned, or a hockey/basketball fight or even basketball players going into the stands to fight with fans. This type of behavior is encouraged because it brings in viewers and viewers mean money and reader/viewership.
Don’t expect to see any real work at reducing violence in any sport because that would reduce the bottom line of the owners, advertisers, sports shows, and print media. Instead, watch for new and improved safety equipment so the violence can increase under the guise of “we’re trying to protect our players.” This way the NFL can fend off or reduce lawsuits while increasing the violence in the game.
Forget Hell
June 8th, 2012
9:40 am
The game has risks. Always has, always will. Too many rules have already been implemented to pussyfy the game. Don’t touch the qb’s head or double team a guy. Horse collar my butt. There is one thing or area that should be addressed: recognize and respect head injuries. If a player gets his bell rung in a game, he should be removed from the game or practice and sent to the showers. That player should be monitored by medical staff and not be allowed to play football until cleared to do so. The medical staff should be from the league, conference, etc. and free of pressure and influence of the coaching staff and organization. There should be mandatory hold-outs such as one game or two weeks, what ever is determined to be appropriate. I feel sorry for the ones that suffered or are suffering, but we all knew we could get hurt. I suspect I’m having some issues, but, in hindsight, all I would have changed is what I have expressed in this paragraph.
Rodster
June 8th, 2012
11:32 am
I agree with the posters who question the validity of this lawsuit. I also understand we didn’t know the longer term implications of head trauma when I played in the 1970’s but everybody certainly knew it was dangerous and we played anyway. I don’t think the NFL is at fault. It’s not really different from any other dangerous occupation. This is just the American cultural norm of today to blame someone for one’s problems. Football players know they wlll get hit in the head. Boxers know they will get hit in the head. Race car drivers know they could get killed in any race.
Larry
June 8th, 2012
11:45 am
“Mary Ann Easterling and Turner are pushing for a greater awareness of the effects of concussions and support for players and their families.”
No, they are pushing for a nice settlement to just go away. This is just an opportunity for all those dolts to grab an easy dollar and there’s always a bottom feeding lawyer willing to get their share too.
eastbound and down
June 8th, 2012
12:05 pm
5150 UOAD
Fortunately for the rest of us, your recommendations are just meaningless rants without any possibility of being implemented. Also, your opinions are without serious merit and substance. go outside, get a breath of fresh air, return to the sofa and veg out in front of the TV.
Stank Wren
June 8th, 2012
1:01 pm
Why don’t these ex players go back and sue their high schools and colleges? Because they know where the big money is and that it is in the pockets of the NFL. I hope these ex-players actually don’t think they can make a judge believe that they never had a concussion until they got to the NFL. I’m sure that the filthy lawyers are lined up trying to get their 30% cut of the money.
It's over
June 8th, 2012
2:28 pm
@ Larry – Touchdown!!!
It’s not like these people were playing tiddlywinks. It’s just so sad to see people stoop so low just because they are envious of how much players make today and how they want their “fair share” in the name of “fairness” and “justice”.
And of course, the fans are the ones who will have to pay for this greed in the end.
Maybe I ought to sue these clowns for trying to steal my entertainment.
Jean Claude Killy
June 8th, 2012
2:38 pm
The Mens downhill cant be quite dangerous as well.
Jean Claude Killy
June 8th, 2012
2:39 pm
sorry “Can”
Shut up ex-NFLers
June 8th, 2012
3:11 pm
Are you telling me that had all these stupid ex-NFLers had known of the dangerous effects the NFL “allegedly” hid, they wouldn’t have played football? This lawsuit is retarded could ruin football if the NFL loses this one.
Do me a favor all you football players:
If you’re depressed and suffer from football-related injuries, DON’T SUE, JUST KILL YOURSELF!!!
Don’t ruin my Sunday entertainment just because your life all of a sudden sucks.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
June 8th, 2012
3:15 pm
Hey Jeff,
Still no blogs on the franchise qb buddy?
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
June 8th, 2012
3:16 pm
Where the heck is Mr. Charlie?
Joey
June 8th, 2012
3:38 pm
“It’s just so sad to see people stoop so low just because they are envious of how much players make today and how they want their “fair share” in the name of “fairness” and “justice”.”
**************************************************************
Well gee, I wonder where they get an idea like that?
Nathaniel
June 8th, 2012
3:56 pm
What did those guys think would happen after using their heads as weapons and getting concussions for ten to fifteen years. Never saw a movie with a punch drunk fighter as a character. They had as much inofrmation as the officials of the league.
The term assumption of risk comes to mind.
However, since the NFL is floating in money, might as well let them have some more of it.
Rule changes are in order in football. And a change in the direction of the game, or else assumption of risk from now on since everyone knows what the results will be.
doc
June 8th, 2012
4:13 pm
man people miss the point.
it isnt about danger but the best protection before but more important the dx, care and treatment that goes with these injuries they havent received until legal actions began a few years ago on this. if you crash your car and are burned and broke up they dont run you back out and say it was a dinger and good play. you get a helicopter to the closest level one trauma center.
incidentally nascar is a great example of a corporation taking responsibiity to make it about fool proof from being injured severely. of course that took the death of beloved dale earnhart who didnt have to die with mandatory safety equipment. some folks have a real almost hate agenda
that over rides sensibility.
Just the facts maam
June 8th, 2012
4:13 pm
I think the only thing the league did was further increase injuries to the much older players before million dollar contracts were the norm. By players perceiving pressure, real or not, by coaches to hurry up and get back in the game after a concussion or other injury during a game. Of course, medical science back then did not have same concussion studies as today. So nobody in league would have known the future harm.
The pressure may have been felt to keep a job and stay in the league. Remember, many athletes had second jobs in offseasons years ago to supplement income.
Today’s pampered millionaires are treated much differently. Teams are protecting their investments and allowing players to get back to prime health before taking chances on further injuries.
I don’t get a lot of the “millionaire player era” complaints. Seems as if they’re jumping on bandwagon. They know a lot more today than they are letting on.
And when does simple common sense come into play. Players know consequences of their actions. That was a big argument for why they started receiving million dollar contracts to begin with.
Just the facts maam
June 8th, 2012
4:15 pm
They know it’s a dangerous sport and that’s why they get paid the big bucks.
Just the facts maam
June 8th, 2012
4:19 pm
They’ve had the best medical treatment from the time that knee doctor, specialist over in Birmingham became the premier sports medical physician many, many years ago.
No more Triple Crown for this year
June 8th, 2012
4:26 pm
Jeff, Anyone else bummed about I’ll Have Another not being able to race the final leg of the Triple Crown? Geez, to get this far and not have a shot at the Belmont due to a flaky injury.
Only the 3rd horse to make it to the Belmont with a Triple Crown chance and get scratched because of injury. Last 2 were way back in ‘32 and ‘36.
At least he’ll be able to stud.
No more Triple Crown for this year
June 8th, 2012
4:28 pm
That sux. Too long to wait between races. He would have been healthy to run if it were last Saturday.
Shut the f up
June 8th, 2012
4:37 pm
“No More,” go to hell and die. You are on the wrong thread.
chuck
June 8th, 2012
5:32 pm
Smokers blaming the cigarette makers for lung cancer. Football players blaming the owners for concussions. Same old story. Knowing the risks you take yourself, blame someone else. Sounds like liberals.
Hillbilly D
June 8th, 2012
6:21 pm
They’ve had the best medical treatment from the time that knee doctor, specialist over in Birmingham became the premier sports medical physician many, many years ago.
Dr James Andrews is an orthopedic surgeon. He does mostly knees, elbows and shoulders. He did a friend of mine for a hip fracture. He doesn’t do brains.
Timbo
June 8th, 2012
6:51 pm
This is nothing more than a money grab. I am truly sympathetic to the Easterlings, but have a hard time believing that all of a sudden former players are claiming that they didn’t know the inherit risks of banging heads and taking drugs to get back out on the field.
Also, whose to say that these problems didn’t begin in the NFL, but began in college football, high school football, junior high, little league…Who gets sued next? Why not sue UGA, the Southeastern Conference, the NCAA, or any state/local governing body(taxpayer’s dollars) that ever sanctioned and allowed football to be played at all. The notion that the media, Congress, or whatever are looking at just the NFL is non sensical. How many players that never made it to the NFL are suffering similar physical issues. What is the percentage of former NFL players that commit suicide compared to the percentage of anyone that commits suicide? I bet the ratio is the same. I don’t doubt the cause and effect of banging heads, but one cannot blame this on the NFL, one has to blame the game itself. You either accept the consequences, don’t play the game, turn the channel, or kill the sport.
Ken Stallings
June 8th, 2012
10:35 pm
The NFL now uses radically altered treatment plans and requirements for concussions since these men played. The NFL then had the same information they have now.
The difference is that the NFL has since had the medical information they kept secret become public as the mounting evidence based upon the debilitating life-altering injuries became diagnosed by competent doctors (those not working for the NFL) and the truth was finally told. Once the truth was told, the NFL finally did what they should have done decades earlier. Had they taken those action then, these men would not be suffering for the rest of their lives today (nor their families).
People who see these facts and still claim this is a mere money grab, or a case of fools knowing the risks and playing anyway, have no cognitive reasoning powers, or are merely using a blog for cheap entertainment opportunities!
5150 UOAD
June 9th, 2012
12:43 am
KEN STALLINGS go CRY to the Soldiers that still see the faces of the men they killed while they live under some bridge and beg for money to get drunk to forget the HORRORS of war.
JSS
June 9th, 2012
6:04 am
“Why is it that the league can “hide” this info? Did they do it in secret? Does the union accept responsibility for not doing there own study? Are the players going to sue the union too?”
Yes, “they” did hide it and colluded in a effort to undermine data with a study paid for by the league. The union cooperated mightily in every study since 1980
Ken Stallings
June 9th, 2012
3:33 pm
UOAD,
I served in wars and earned a DFC in combat flight operations. Before you lecture someone about warfare, perhaps you should shut up a few seconds and take a moment to learn something about whom you attempt to lecture!
Men in combat take those risks to protect their society from loss of liberties and lives, and that makes the sacrifices paid worth it. And before using the talking points of lying politicians as you just did, take a few seconds to appreciate what our nation does to take care of our veterans in real need.
But, to see men suffer in their middle ages such that they become disfunctional, and effectively are exiled from their own families, just so I can watch them play a game for a few years is a rather pathetic trade.
Protecting your country, and keeping liberty alive in it, is worth a price in lives.
If it comes down to it that football cannot be played without men making such sacrifices, then destroy the sport immediately and play basketball or baseball! However, provided we don’t listen to foolish voices like your’s the truth is that football can be played without such sacrifices. The NFL simply needed to implement the concussions policies they did in the 21st century way back in the 1970’s when they had all the data necessary to confirm the risks back then.
The NFL is going to lose this lawsuit. Hiding risks, and sending men back out on the field with concussions just to play a game, is a foolish and crass exchange of life for money! When you comprehend that it takes this sort of recklessness to turn concussions into life-altering debilitations, then intelligent people can see the issue. Forcing players to rest until all concussion symptoms are gone prevents the sort of life-altering issues these retired players are now facing. Forcing them to retire for their own good after the symptoms fail to disappear costs them money, but protects the rest of their lives. People should not die or be permanently debilitated to play a sports game!
On the other hand, life for liberty is something rational people can understand.
Perhaps UOAD, you will either find another entertainment outlet for your fantasies, or take a few seconds to contemplate how foolish you have acted here!
DawgNole
June 9th, 2012
5:29 pm
Ken Stallings
June 9th, 2012
3:33 pm
Perhaps UOAD, you will either find another entertainment outlet for your fantasies, or take a few seconds to contemplate how foolish you have acted here!
________________________
Wishful thinking, I’m afraid. Perhaps you don’t know the guy.
Hillbilly D
June 9th, 2012
10:03 pm
But, to see men suffer in their middle ages such that they become disfunctional, and effectively are exiled from their own families, just so I can watch them play a game for a few years is a rather pathetic trade.
Well said, Ken.
PlanB
June 10th, 2012
7:04 am
5150 has it right except for the point of injured players being forced to play. We are evolving and head injuries are being taken care of in a different way, now. I’ve heard players can get safer helmets but they are a little heavier and slow the players down. I feel sure the player will go for the lighter faster helmet as many have opted not to use knee and thigh pads because they slow them down.
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
June 10th, 2012
9:49 pm
Ken Stallings
June 9th, 2012
3:33 pm
UOAD,
I served in wars and earned a DFC in combat flight operations. Before you lecture someone about warfare, perhaps you should shut up a few seconds and take a moment to learn something about whom you attempt to lecture!
_______________________________________________
Thank you
TOAD is an idiot!
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bob
June 20th, 2012
11:34 pm
Who would have thought that head on full force hits would cause damage to the human body? I love how personal responsibility has gone bye-bye in this day and age, I understand some of these players are your friends but they harbor some of the blame for not bargaining for that in the CBA.
The players have no one to blame but themselves, the boss rarely looks out for their meal tickets and they should have been proactive to do their own studies.