I couldn’t agree more! John’s suggestion is good advice. Has anybody come up with an “Action Plan?”…Any action plan?… Does anybody know how to organize an action plan? What sort of format should be used?

May I suggest the following:
GOALS – stated in a measurable form;
OBJECTIVES – a statement of what is to be accomplished. The purpose of action focused to achieve the goals;
STRATEGIES – marketing programs designed specifically to sell the story we want sold;
TARGETS – the people and/or organizations we want to sell,eg., NFLPA, NFL Alumni, NFL Active Players, a con-gressional committee, News Media,etc.; and finally,
A PLANNED SCHEDULE SEQUENCE OF ACTION PRIORITIES – with personnel assignments and scheduled dates of accomplishment.

So how do we get started? We have a logistics problem but with Robert Lee’s help we can overcome that with good communication.

Remember, we’ve already outlined some GOALS & OBJECTIVES:

1. A Unified Retired Players Organization.
2. Pension Reform.
3. Disability Reform.
4. Dire Need Assistance TODAY.
5. GAO Audit of the Bell/Rozelle NFL Players Benefit Plan with focus on Retirement Pensions & Disability.
6. Recovering, retaining & managing our marketing licensing rights.

Well, this is what I’ve been thinking about since the SUMMIT. Is there anybody else with any ideas on how we should go about putting some action behind our Goals & Objectives.

Come on now, let’s open up some dialog. Surely there is someone out there with some good ideas… LET’S START USING THIS BLOG TO OUR ADVANTAGE.

Best Regards,
John Houser
Independent Retired NFL Player Advocate
1957 – 1963
Rams, Cowboys, Cardinals

How can anybody spend $1,369,082.00 at the Fairmont Hotel in Hawaii? Nothing but the best for Gene Upshaw and his rascals. Gene may have left the building but ALL the same smiling faces are still there.

The Nanny Connection is also quite interesting. Other than daycare, did the nanny connection provide any other services?

The Fairmont Kea Lani Maui: Pg. 798 Amount $1,369, 082.00 Nothing but the best for the NFLPA Leadership. (Guess this must include room service?)

The Nanny Connection (Hawaii): child care provider 2008 NFLPA board meeting pg. 801 Amount $7,112.00 (How many children were each NFLPA leader allowed to bring at $15 an hour for 4 days?)

Regards,
Dave Pear

You sound like a redneck talking to little old white ladies, trying to scare them with the specter of a black man in the White House with that “Jonestown” crap!

As a “free and independent” advocate for retired players, I respect and admire your actions to better the lives of your fellow NFL retirees. However, it is disingenuous to try to assist them while making personal attacks on other retired players who have the same goals in mind, but who may be pursuing a different course of action.

Rather than criticize and tear down, I suggest we focus on positive plans of action and achieving common goals.

John Hogan
Disability Attorney

We will not go away until justice has been had! The NFLPA’s books need to be opened. During these tough times, we all have to be leaner and meaner in how we do business. I believe Mr. Smith has a big job to do and I feel he’s headed in the right direction. Let’s keep him in our prayers.

Council Rudolph
1972 – 1977
Oilers, Cardinals & Buccaneers

If you add up just the money shown in the post above, I think you’ll find that the Upshaw PA could have used it to write a check to each retired player for almost $20,000.00!

In addition to that, they could have increased each and every man’s monthly pension by about $200.00 if they would have paid Gene’s widow that $14,000,000.00 that they just paid her over a ten (10) year period instead!

The Owners are just as much to blame for this whole mess as was Gene and the Crew that was “rolling” with him. The NFL could have – with the stroke of a pen – required Upshaw “and his Boys” to give us the money that should have gone to us instead of using it to buy the support of the active players by setting up programs that made no sense at all: “Second-Career Funds,” “Free-Vacation-for-Life Funds,” “Two-Tanks-of-Gas-For-Life Funds,” and they go on and on. I may have missed a few (and I may have called some of them the wrong names!) but you get my drift.

The Owners were as much a part of it as was the “Upshaw Brigade.” Maybe Smith can do something different. I don’t know. He could turn out to be something new but he could also turn out to be another “bad mistake.” Too early to say right now.

How on earth can anyone justify the PA spending $1,300,000.00 (that’s MILLION, boys) for a meeting that only lasted a few days. We put the Summit on for under $3,000.00 (Three Thousand Dollars!).

You can get a great room at the Fairmont Kea Lani Maui for about $400.00/night. That would be about $2,000.00/week/person. If they paid for 100 rooms that they “comp’ed” people, that would have added up to about $200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousand Dollars). Feed them all steak and lobster three times a day and that might cost another 100k, give or take a few bucks. Can you tell me how they spent that other $1,000,000.00 (spelled O-N-E M-I-L-L-I-O-N bucks cash money.)?

I hate to tell you this but the figures that you see above are from the LM-2 Tax return that they filed and they’re just the tip of the iceberg.

I’m just telling you the Truth again. Smith can make some changes if he’s courageous enough to take on the old “James Gang.”

Until we see what he’s going to do, I can only recommend that you not run out there and follow some “Reverend Jim Jones” character that the Owners set up for you.

Bob Grant
Free and Independent Retired Player Advocate