Have you noticed that Katz is billing himself as a “sports attorney” for the first time? If you go back in time, when Bernie hired Katz of the Manatt Phelps & Phillips Law Firm, the firm had no sports attorneys. Is Katz going to become general counsel or special counsel to the NFLPA, after the settlement and ripoff… I mean payoff.

I want another vote on president of the union and a chance to vote for a guy who is honest and not in someone’s pocket.

Andy

As my father used to say, “Everybody is a comedian!” I sure hope the retirees’ NFL/NFLPA fiasco gets resolved in a positive manner, even if it takes more time and effort and the guys have the time, patience and will to hang on. I do have to make an additional comment about my filmmaking thought. It doesn’t have to start out with a book. A phone call at the right time by the right person could get the ball (film) rolling. Right, Mr. Moore?

Lock it up safely.

Barbara Sandusky
wife of Mike Sandusky
Pittsburgh Steelers ‘57 – ‘65

What a great idea! Why, we could call it “Roger and Me.” Oh wait – he’s already done that one. Ha Ha!

Seriously, if all of this was ever put down on paper as a book and eventually made into a film, I think most people would call it fiction. Outside of the players who continue to get messed over, very few people would possibly believe that something this bad could have actually gone on as long as it has with no one doing anything about it! The corruption runs deep AND wide!

Fortunately, with the Internet and new forms of getting the information out faster – like Twitter – more of the players get informed almost instantly, so it gets harder and harder for the NFLPA and the NFL to maintain the old business-as-usual approach much longer.

It may have been a good time for Gene Upshaw to exit the building in the middle of the night!

I wonder if anyone has thought about (if it eventually comes down to it) contacting filmmaker Michael Moore? What a great documentary the retirees’ stories would make. Bernie could be a primary figure and Dave would be smiling from ear-to-ear. I would bet that if the idea ever became a serious consideration with Mr. Moore and initial publicity “got out” you’d see previously denied changes take place for you guys. Keep the idea in your back pocket. No, lock it up safely.

Keep the faith!

Barb Sandusky
wife of Mike Sandusky
Pittsburgh Steelers ’57 – ’65

Thank You
Tommy Mason
1961 – 1971
Minnesota Vikings, LA Rams, Washington Redskins

I also hope that each man who receives a share of the award will contribute to the war-chest that Bernie has proposed so that we can go after NFLPA partner -n-crime Electronic Arts and others who have been involved in wrongs against Retired Players, many of whom were not included in the 2,000 names in the class list.

If you are receiving monies from this settlement please remember that you were not asked to pay a nickel to make this all happen. You know who started it, hired the attorneys and who is now fighting to make sure that you’re not taken advantage of in this settlement. Please help him to keep the fight going. Even if you don’t help out for the principle or for Bernie, do it for the money – there’s a lot more that these crooks have stolen from us and we need to get it back!

Bob Grant
Independent Advocate and Activist for Retired Players

Thank you for your support!

It’s retired players like YOU who made the NFL what it is today.

The greedy actions by the league continue to cause indignation for retired players.

Retired players must have the courage to stand firm until we’re vindicated!

Red, I would recommend that you take a closer look at the new Joint Replacement Program that the League has come up with. The problem is, I’ve personally tried to access this benefit and after 70 hours of my own time going back-and-forth with unqualified and inexperienced employees, all I got back was enough to cover two seat cushions and one $5 co-pay (they sent me a check for around $500 after a $60,000+ surgery plus all the medications and physical therapy sessions that went along with it!).

For a major operation, aren’t medical benefits paid first by the program or insurance?

That is not the case with the NFL’s Joint Replacement Program. You have to pay out of your own pocket first, then they take their own good time to decide if and when you might be reimbursed. I personally handed Mary-Anne Fleming another big folder of more receipts while were at The Summit in Las Vegas (at HER request) and I’m STILL waiting just to hear back from her! I guess highly-paid Benefits employees like her and Mary Moran are simply too self-important to look after the guys who pay them their big paychecks! This approach makes absolutely no sense for the injured player; by the time players like us who really need this medical treatment, we simply don’t have the resources to pay first and then go hat-in-hand trying to get back money they didn’t have in the first place. It’s like telling you that you don’t deserve your disability benefits because you were forced to work to provide for your family so you’re well enough NOT to receive your earned disability benefits. The Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle Plan’s philosophy seems to be, “You’re not dead yet so you can’t possibly qualify for benefits!” If I were Bert Bell or Pete Rozelle, I would have been ashamed to have had my name associated with this plan. I certainly wouldn’t have considered it a compliment or an honor!

The Groom Law Group (once again) has created another debacle that is a total whitewash and nothing more than a PR stunt intended to mislead Congress. They seem to be nothing more than make-work programs for people who don’t need the work. If the there was a legitimate disability program for retired players, then all these meaningless programs wouldn’t be necessary. How about just paying us the money instead?

And on another topic: John Madden: Where do YOU stand on the Players Inc. swindle?

Two weeks before the trial last year – and at the start of the the NFL season – you unexpectedly go AWOL and take an “unscheduled two-week vacation.”

Was this because you were not a subpoenaed witness so you were just ducking the media to avoid any questions about what you knew and when you knew it?

Usually, you have so much to say. What happened to your normally endless stream of opinions about everything? BOOM! It’s gone! It’s kind of hard to say anything when it’s got your name all over it, isn’t it?

John, Raider-to-Raider, where do you stand? I wore the silver & black on the field and you wore it on the sidelines. Do you stand with the players or with Al Davis?

We had a carrot dangled in front of our faces that proved to be fake!

John, your silence is very telling as to where you stand.

Regards,

Dave & Heidi Pear

But whatever direction you decide to go, I’m with you. It doesn’t seem like this action suit will come to a conclusion in our lifetime.

William “Red” Mack
1961 – 1966
Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers

D.D. Lewis
Dallas Cowboys 1968 – 1981

As we carefully ponder the events in the Players Inc. trial, we should reflect on who the culprits are and the jury’s verdict: “Malicious and oppressive conduct with evil motive” and “conduct that was outrageous and grossly fraudulent.”

The NFLPA Leadership conspired with EA Sports to “scramble” the images of retired players in their Madden NFL video games.

This verdict should compel the vast majority of retired players (may be as many as 95%) who are not part of the inner circle (the 5% who curry favor with the League for financial gain) to refuse to be duped into believing that anything has changed.

We must stay vigilant and keep on the watch because the same smiling faces (with the exception of Upshaw) are still in power.

So let’s stay awake and review the settlement verbage prudently so we can discern any obscure language that may limit future claims.

Being convicted of breaching fiduciary duty in Federal Court is a serious offense even though the League pretends that it’s still business as usual.

Irrefutable logic would lead one to believe that NFL Films must have played a part in this swindle and therefore also must be accountable.

John Madden’s silence implies consent because he has received in excess of $100,000,000 in royalties and as stated by Judge Alsup, “The defendants lobbied thousands of retired players for fourteen years to sign up for (the marketing program), yet never paid one cent to any retired player under the program?”

Sincerely,
Dave & Heidi Pear