Congresswoman Linda Sanchez took 10 minutes to do a serious beat down of Commissioner Roger Goodell in the Congressional Hearings on brain injuries. You can watch her clip below but first we want to take a moment to introduce the new James Bond Dr. No: Ira Casson (we no longer want to call this idiot ‘Doctor’ as he doesn’t merit the respect of his fellow human beings) heads the NFL MTBI Committee that conducts those endless inconclusive studies on traumatic brain injuries for the NFL. This jerk shall henceforth be known as The New Dr. No. Every answer Casson gives in the following clip from Bernard Goldberg’s interview from last May’s HBO Real Sports is an arrogant, “No!” (with a sneer). And it looks like he was also a NO-show at the Congressional hearings as well, much to the Commissioner’s surprise (!).Here’s to Dr. No!<sneer> AAA
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And here are Rep. Sanchez’ questions and comments: AAA
Commissioner Goodell – Once again, you testified to Congress that things were improving for retired players and everything was so much faster and more improved than ever. Here’s what you said on Wednesday morning (your comments are in the first minute of the clip).
The day’s session has concluded and is now online in its entirety for viewing. Click on the morning or afternoon clip below to go directly to C-Span site to view.
The finalized witness list for the Congressional Hearings was just released (each of the witnesses will have their testimony attached after the hearings are completed – click HERE to check on the Congressional site or click on their name when their testimony is finally posted). We did have one small question: Why are Tiki Barber and Merril Hoge listed as Retired NFL Players while Bernie Parrish is listed as a Former NFL Player?
NFL Players are hired to be fired. When they enter the NFL they’re healthy enough to pass a physical but after performing for their employers and sustaining injuries, they become unhealthy, unable to pass physicals and are eventually cut, fired or forced to retire.
It looks like the latest Congressional hearings into brain concussions in the NFL will be starting this Wednesday, October 28th. From all the preliminary announcements, it appears that only two people have been officially announced to testify: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith. So far, no experts such as neurosurgeons and brain scientists have been announced to testify. We have to wonder who called this hearing on such short notice and why now just as the 2010 lockout is looming and brain concussions have taken center stage in the retired players’ battle for independent representation. With a hat tip to all those other Top 10 Lists out there, we’ve come up with a simple list of the Top 10 Questions that Congress should be asking of Goodell and Smith directly.
Before everyone and their brother jumps in to try and take credit for it, DeMaurice Smith and his crew have been working with the NFL to protect retired players’ disability benefits during a potential lockout in 2010.So De Smith was right – without the express agreement of the NFL, retired players’ benefits could have been severely impacted by a lockout.
As many of you know, the N.F.L. is currently conducting a study in which 120 former N.F.L. players are undergoing thorough examinations outside New York City to assess their current neurological function. This is not the Michigan phone survey that was recently revealed — this is an in-person, full-day evaluation conducted by Dr. Ira Casson and other physicians.
First of all, we want to congratulate George Martin for his appointment as the Executive Director of the NFL Alumni Association; George was selected from a broad range of talented candidates with hats in the ring. George steps into this newly-created, salaried position at the Alumni. The choice was appropriate and George Martin is well-liked. .
Today’s official NFL press announcement from the Associated Press also included the following warm-and-fuzzy-aw-shucks clip on retired players (really, who actually sits down and writes this crap?): . The owners also met with George Martin, who has been hired by the NFL Alumni Association, a group that plans to be the lone voice for retired players. Those players have had their representation fragmented by many groups, and Goodell believes working with one organization will be a positive development. . ”One thing I’ve heard coming out of meetings with retired players was that they want an independent organization that is focused entirely on retired players,” Goodell said. ”Now we can have an entity that is independent that can identify issues that are priorities for retired players. . ”Retired players are an asset. They’re wonderful ambassadors for the game, they mean so much to fans. To be able to cooperate with them to provide opportunities for them, this is a great development for us.” . Read the rest of the article as published in the New York Times by clicking HERE. .
With that, we want to step into a short and simple civics lesson:
Well, I got reminded a little too late tonight that CBS’ 60 Minutes ran Bob Simon’s episode on brain concussions and brain disease tonight and I missed it (like a lot of you out there, I suspect!).
Once in a while, we run across a piece so well-written and easy-to-understand that to try and improve on it would be a waste of time. The following is a recent post written by Jordan Kobritz in The Seymour Herald (out of Seymour, Tennessee) and we’re posting the entire piece with the kind permission of Herald Publisher Joe Karl.
First of all, we want to congratulate 
Well, I got reminded a little too late tonight that CBS’ 60 Minutes ran Bob Simon’s episode on brain concussions and brain disease tonight and I missed it (like a lot of you out there, I suspect!).