Reaching Out to Retired Players?
With The Retired Football Players Summit now over, we can get back to some recent news.
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This weekend, NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith was quoted as saying, “I don’t represent active players. I don’t represent retired players. I represent all NFL players. We are one team.” And then in the next press release as shown on the NFLPA site (click HERE to read it if they don’t take it down asap). (Or click on the screen capture below that we clipped today for posterity.)
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This starts to get really interesting now. DeMaurice Smith is now publicly stating that he represents ALL players and not just the active players. It’s a huge jump from Gene Upshaw’s comments on how he really felt about the retired players and dog food. But recently, we also pointed out something Bernie Parrish has been trying to get across for a couple of years now: “Retired member have NO voting rights and CANNOT be members of the collective bargaining unit as certified by the NLRB” (National Labor Relations Board) (our emphasis). (Read that post – click HERE.)
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Some of the most common questions coming out of The Summit included:
- Does our so-called Union – the NFLPA – really represent the retired players?
- If the NFLPA does represent the retired players, why don’t they at least give us equal voting rights? (After all, there will always be MORE retired players than active players.)
- And if the NFLPA doesn’t actually represent the retired players, who in fact does?
- And more to the point, if they and the NFL clearly don’t represent the retired players, why have both organizations (the NFLPA and the NFL) continued to control and manage (or mismanage) the retired players’ disability and pension benefit funds for the past 25+ years with absolutely no oversight or accountability?
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Mr. Smith – you’re now echoing Gene Upshaw’s mantra of demanding a closer audit of the NFL’s books. So the retired players are asking – no – demanding – that the NFLPA and the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Retirement Fund submit to a GAO audit of its books so we can see an honest accounting of where all our money has gone and what we have left. There were Labor and Union pension experts at The Summit who wholeheartedly agree with us: No other Union pension and benefit plan in the free Western world is run this way. This is an abomination!
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What you’re trying to force on the retired players is something that REAL Unions everywhere else don’t do to their members. I have a couple of questions for everyone: Has there ever been a strike in Detroit against the Big Three auto manufacturers where the retired members were told that their benefits would be drastically reduced during the strike? And closer to home here in Seattle: Has there ever been a strike against Boeing in which the retirees were told by its leadership that retired members would lose benefits during the strike? Excuse our collective ignorance in Union matters but simple common sense would tell you that no one can touch pension funds. Period.
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Time for another press release, Mr. Smith.
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Anthony Simmons
June 1st, 2009 at 8:41 PM #
We are all going to go through Trials and Tribulations with this new direction that the New Executive Director proposed to his retired players. If you were there, you would have seen all of the support that was given to our new director DeMaurice Smith. I’m hoping that we continue to support him and believe that he’s a leader for the players. Now some may say he’s not one of us but hearing DeMaurice Smith speak made you feel a change of what most of us are searching for.
I represent one Team from the NFL Past Present and Future. During the Convention, I walked around after both sessions just to see if there was any bickering, negativity or disrespect to DeMaurice Smith and as I talked with a few brothers during the convention, it was all positive feed back. You just had to be there to experience the flavor. Now we have a way to go and that’s going to be difficult but with our positive attitudes, positive e-mails and support of DeMaurice Smith, I promise that if you come to Convention 2010, there will be doors opening for more players at the convention to support retired and active players.
Thank You
Anthony Simmons
John Hogan
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:19 AM #
Anthony,
Everything I’ve heard about De Smith is positive. There is no question he’s a smart, charming and articulate man.
You have only been retired a couple of years and are still a young man. You still have health insurance. Probably still have money from your playing days, and may not be able to appreciate the concerns of those who paved the way for you in the NFL – health, pension and disability.
Did anyone in Palm Springs explain the NFL disability plan to you – discuss its short-comings and proposals for needed changes? Did you have any independent pension experts who exposed problems with the NFL’s pension? Did you have any renowned medical experts give you invaluable information about concussions and traumatic brain injury? Did you have any wives and widows speak to you about what they have to deal with? Did you have any attendees there on canes and in wheelchairs? If the answers to any of those questions is “No” then the NFLPA’s slogan about THE PAST is a platitude.
John Hogan
Disability Attorney
Bernie Parrish
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:20 AM #
Bernie Parrish sent his comments in today:
After several conversations with NFL Alumni Assoc officials, I’ve learned their preference NOW is to join with the NFLRPA who are meeting in Palm Springs and not to join with Bruce Laird’s Fourth and Goal group that is meeting in Las Vegas.
Laird’s claims of secret agreements between him and Roger Goodell about the NFL Alumni’s logo and restrictions on collective bargaining and not being able to sue and NFL entity are simply not true. The claims about who he represents are more than just disconcerting and are not verifiable. In other words, more B.S. Laird’s claims of broad retired player support are at best exaggerated, more accurately totally untrue.
Bruce’s 3,100 members of the NFL Alumni Assoc. are not retired players but fans – and they don’t know or support Bruce Laird or his group at all. Laird is using a claim to be representing those 3100 NFL Alumni fans to try to take control of the NFL Alumni Assoc., relating in con man’s jargon to suddenly be his backers. Yes, it’s bizarre but he appears to be getting away with it.
If you support Bruce Laird and his mouthpiece Tony Davis send me an email at bpp12@yahoo.com. Who supports you, Bruce?
I understand Davis sent Congressman John Conyers so many ridiculous emails that Conyers had to ask that all retired players stop sending him emails.
Bruce does not and never will represent the 2062 participants in Parrish v NFLPA Case No. 07 0943 WHA, no matter what he or Tony Davis claim.
Bruce was described as an “empty suit” by an NFL Alumni Assoc, spokesperson earlier this past week, meaning he has no backing, outside of a small gang of loud individuals.
He has even pissed off the new (by way of Berthelsen’s rigged election) Executive Director “D” whatever his name is, who claimed emphatically yesterday that he represents retired NFL players (even though it is illegal – see LM2 Schedule 13 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008). If he represents retired players, he’s doing, a hell of a job of it. He acts more like Upshaw coached by Berthelsen every day.
The retirement benefits remain the same, the disability plan remains a fiasco and rumor has it, “D” is threatening to cut our retirement benefits by 80% if there’s a lockout. This is the ol’ buddy that Ron Katz says is the answer to the retired players’ issues. “D” has also discovered Bruce is a self-serving sort who is not what he appears to be.
I support the owners in any lockout and the lockout should be in August 2009. “D” and his active player followers will cave by October 15th, 2009, if not sooner. Art Modell doubled our retirement benefits in 2002 winning a battle with Upshaw to get it done. It cost $19.4 million – not billions as some kiss-up idiots claim.
Bernie Parrish
Dave Pear
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:54 AM #
John Hogan,
As always, thanks for your keen insight to the pension/disability debacle.
This has always been a legal issue and retired players rights have been – and continue to be – violated.
The NFLPA Leadership was found responsible in Federal Court of breaching their fiduciary duty to retired players over signed GLA agreements in the Players Inc. swindle.
Surely they have also breached their duty over disability benefits.
The language jurors found the union to be guilty of included such phrases as “malicious and oppressive conduct with evil motive” and “conduct that was outrageous and grossly fraudulent”!!!
The NFLPA was ordered to pay $28.1 million dollars to the retired players and their families they have cheated.
However, lead attorney Jeffery Kessler for the NFLPA, still called the verdict a “miscarriage of justice” and they’re now going to appeal. For that, Mr. Kessler was paid almost $5,000,000 in 2008! Just how much will he be paid in 2009 and 2010?
We hope that a GAO (Government Accountability Office) audit would put an end to these crimes.
Sincerely,
Dave & Heidi Pear