If You Don’t Read Anything Else Today…
Dave Zirin from the The Nation has written a powerful piece which really summarizes the Catch-22 that the NFL faces with regard to brain concussions. We’ve been discussing Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference around the office cooler for a while now.
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The NFL’s Concussion Conundrum
By Dave Zirin
November 24, 2009
On Sunday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made a startling concession to medical ethics, one resisted by all of his predecessors. Goodell said that when a player sustains a concussion, teams will now be required to seek advice from “independent” neurologists. As the commissioner said on NBC’s Football Night in America, “As we learn more and more, we want to give players the best medical advice. This is a chance for us to expand that and bring more people into the circle to make sure we’re making the best decisions for our players in the long term.”
There is a reason why this story made the front page of the New York Times. It marks a major change in policy and would be like the tobacco Industry bringing the American Cancer Institute into its boardroom or Exxon Mobil stating that they needed more input from Greenpeace.
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Read the rest of Zirin’s hard-hitting piece - click HERE.
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Dave Pear
November 24th, 2009 at 1:31 pm #
Dear Commissioner -
The next time you discipline and fine a player or an owner, you might want to take a look in the mirror.
By your actions, it seems that you live by a double standard.
We’d like to give you some unsolicited advice and request that you consider “leading by example.”
Furthermore, your performance last month in Washington DC (10/28/09) in front of:
1) Rep. Maxine Waters
2) Rep. Linda Sanchez
3) Gay Culverhouse
Was a disgrace to ALL retired NFL players!
When will you kindly refrain from Delay, Deny and Hope They Die?
This dark cloud hanging over the NFL will only become darker until there is real change.
We certainly appreciated Maxine Waters saying, “It is time to remove the anti trust exemption.”
Sincerely,
Dave & Heidi Pear
Bob Grant
November 24th, 2009 at 11:05 pm #
Gosh! Do you think that it has anything to do with what our Team of Independent Activists and Advocates said? I’m satisfied saying that perhaps they are finally realizing that we’re not going to go away and we’re not going to allow “business as usual” to be the way of the day.
Let’s keep in mind the absolute fact that “Dr. No” was doing and saying exactly what the PEOPLE who were paying him wanted him to do and say.
So now that Roger and the NFL Owners have suddenly gotten religion in regards to Active Players, let’s see just how long it takes for them to really address the Retired Players and Brain Trauma.
Thanks, Dave, Robert, Bernie, Brent, Jane, Jon and Harry. There are other good people who have spoken up, there are some who no longer have the ability to speak up and there are those who cannot publicly say too much because of business relationships that they have with the NFL.
Bob Grant
Independent Retired Player Advocate
Irv Cross
November 25th, 2009 at 10:03 am #
A solution to Concussion issues:
First I want to make clear I do not have a personal stake in this debate; however, I have nearly 50 years experience playing and managing sports. You all know of my involvement in the NFL as a player and broadcaster. What you may not know about is my long-standing involvement with the NCAA and past Chair of Pop Warner.
The NCAA was formed primarily because of injuries in football. The decree from Congress was to make College sports safe or abandon them. I see us at the same spot once again regarding the brain concussion debate – there is a serious problem with brain concussions in pro football: How do you solve it?
One quick solution is to scan every active and retired NFL football player’s brain to see the extent of the problem. My uninformed guess is that every NFL player has some degree of brain damage. Conduct the scans… if problems are uncovered, treat them immediately. Mild issues might allow a player to continue playing; major issues if they exist, might force the player to retire but you will receive treatment immediately. One of our biggest problems with some of our retirees is the inability to sustain a respectable lifestyle away from the game as a result of damage to their brains.
While AD at Idaho State University, I was appointed Chair of the Catastrophic Injury program and helped develop a Catastrophic Insurance Program for the NCAA. I know we can put a program together to resolve the NFL concussion issues.
My Proposal:
1. Acknowledge that all pro football players are subject to brain injuries;
2. Scan all active and retired players today to develop a baseline;
3. Develop a treatment program to be implemented immediately;
4. Hire the top Doctors and clinics in the industry to execute the plan;
5. Once the initial scan is taken all players should have scans annually along with the preseason physical;
6. All of this should be paid for by the League and NFLPA.
Personal points:
Last week I visited Dr. Amen in Newport Beach for my free brain scan. It was a fabulous experience. I now know the condition of my own brain, and a treatment program was established to manage my issues. GUYS!! PLEASE GO SEE DR AMEN! You will have a different perspective on your life and you will know why your memory isn’t what it used to be.
My second personal note is I want football to thrive. We all know how great this game is and all of the benefits we gained through the greatest team sport on earth. As former players, I believe we have an obligation to help grow this game. If we continue to have so many negative responses without solutions, from the League, NFLPA and retired players, we might just find ourselves destroying our own game. What do you think would happen if the mothers in the country said my son is never going to play that game! How long do you think the NFL would last? We have a problem. Those of us inside the game know that. My thoughts are to not deny the brain issues, but develop a broad baseline study scanning all retired and active players, and I would appoint Dr. Amen to head that effort. Once the scanning has been completed set treatments where necessary. Have a committee of the National Athletic Trainers Association, medical experts, members of the rules committe and the competition committee redesign a framework for play on the field. With a plan like that we have a chance to make our game better and will allow everyone in uniform from Pop Warner to the NFL to know football is not only a great game, but safe.
Retirees: Let’s come up with ways to make the game safer and better. We have an issue with concussions. My immediate suggestion for all retirees is to get to Newport Beach, CA for a brain scan from Dr. Amen. Your life will not be the same.
Irv Cross
1961 – 1969
Philadelphia Eagles & LA Rams
RobertinSeattle
November 25th, 2009 at 10:37 am #
Irv -
All excellent suggestions and proposals, especially the Amen Clinic. I only have one additional proposal to add to your list: Set up an independent committee to properly handle benefits and care for the retired players. Immediately. By that I mean: NO MORE STUDIES, NO MORE FOOT-DRAGGING, NO MORE DR. NO.
Only when the retired players are finally acknowledged and taken care of will there be a real sea change in the big picture. Without their direct involvement and support, there’s no real improvement. I suspect DeMaurice Smith is also coming around to understanding that simple idea.
Every player that gets knocked off the field today becomes tomorrow’s discarded, retired player. Unfortunately, absolutely NO real emphasis has been placed on caring for those retired players FIRST.
John Hogan
November 25th, 2009 at 11:03 am #
You guys are right on. The recent news about no more Dr. No, independent neurologists for all teams, etc. is great news for active players (and their families). We should have the League and PA come up with some cash to get any retired player who wants to go see Dr. Amen. Then we need to properly deal with the retirees who are disabled or otherwise suffering from the effects of too many blows to the head.
John Hogan
Disability Attorney
Bruce Jarvis
November 25th, 2009 at 12:35 pm #
Kudos to Dave, Bob, Irv, Robert and John (and Bernie Parrish and many of the other commenters to Dave’s blog) regarding the very important issue of brain injury from football (at all levels). Indeed it appears that there is movement on this issue from both sides.
A CAUTION however – as is the case with the NFLPA in the Parrish lawsuit – let’s be wary of our adversaries in NFL ownership using the brain injury issue to downplay the screaming issue of overall pension, disability and medical benefits improvements.
What I mean is this…a shrewd legal strategy is to appear to give in on a contentious issue while structuring a settlement which reduces or limits a much larger liability. In the Parrish lawsuit, all the lawyers (including plaintiff’s counsel Katz) attempted to force a settlement for a payment of $12K per person and have the plaintiffs relinquish all future claims against the NFLPA and its business partners which include EA Sports and the NFL’s wholly owned NFL Ventures (potential defendants in much larger lawsuits). Thank goodness for Bernie Parrish and Judge Alsup!
We need to guard against the NFL’s use of the issue of the head injury problem to improve its image with Congress and the buying public by taking steps it should have undertaken in the first place (independent experts, scans for all, etc.) and creating the illusion to the world it has seen the light with regards to the challenges of its veterans and all is now put right! Essentially, for a relatively small sum, the owners will once again have bought themselves an untarnished halo if we allow them to forget about the BIG MONEY ISSUES.
Let’s all remember that ALL IS NOT PUT RIGHT UNTIL AT LEAST:
1) THE NFL PENSION BENEFIT IS GREATER THAN BASEBALL & THE NBA (reflecting the respective playing risks undertaken);
2) THE DISABILITY PROCESS IS TOTALLY REVAMPED WITH REGARD TO THE SPECIFICS OF OUR CIRCUMSTANCES AND OVERALL FAIRNESS (with compensation to those illegally denied); and
3) POST-PLAYING DAYS MEDICAL CARE IS PROVIDED TO ALL VETS.
The sucker play here is to fall for the siren’s song that all former players’ head injuries are now going to be taken care of by Mother NFL, so all is well from this point on. “Congress and everyone else please see what benevolent dictators we are and quit bothering us about those other former players’ issues and allow us to bring you some football!”
KEEP REMINDING CONGRESS, THE PUBLIC AND THE NFL THAT THERE WILL BE NO LETUP UNTIL FAIR TREATMENT IS ACCORDED VETERANS PENSIONS, DISABILITY AND MEDICAL COVERAGE BY THE NFL OWNERS!
YOUR ANTI-TRUST EXEMPTION IS AT STAKE, GENTLEMEN… AND WE WILL NEVER QUIT UNTIL YOU DO THE RIGHT THING.
Bruce Jarvis
Buffalo Bills
1971 – 1974
Irv Cross
November 25th, 2009 at 1:06 pm #
John:
Thanks! I know we can develop a solution for our concussion issues. Think about what we need for an effective committee to design action statements. Once real experts such as Dr. Amen identify the extent of our problems, we can then develop real solutions. John, I believe the program we put together would be an effective preventive solution and in those cases where people have serious issues they would be uncovered and treated more quickly. We already have two All-Pros: Dr. Amen (Medical) and John Hogan (Disability).
Does anyone know of anyone else who could add value to this group? Remember, our mission for the concussion committee is to resolve our concussion and disability issues and create a framework to make the game safer at all levels. Guys, we can do this! You must know I have not spoken to anyone about my proposals, they just popped up in my newly conditioned brain!
GO SEE DR. AMEN!
Irv Cross
1961 – 1969
Philadelphia Eagles & LA Rams
Patrice Fisher
November 25th, 2009 at 2:12 pm #
As the mom of a high school player who recently experienced a concussion, another huge challenge will be changing the mind-set of players. The two most important things to my son after regaining consciousness were, “Did I catch the ball and when can I play again?”
The “suck-it-up-and-get-back-in-play-OR-be-replaced” attitude in football has to be changed if independent second opinions, new rules or anything else are to be effective. The fear factor of players losing their positions/jobs if they are injured must be addressed in all solutions.
Patrice Fisher
Football Mom
George Visger
November 25th, 2009 at 2:59 pm #
Irv (and All):
Great points and Irv, I couldn’t agree more strongly with the points you make:
1. Acknowledge that all pro football players are subject to brain injuries;
2. Scan all active and retired players today to develop a baseline;
3. Develop a treatment program to be implemented immediately;
4. Hire the top Doctors and clinics in the industry to execute the plan;
5. Once the initial scan is taken, all players should have scans annually as part of the pre-season physical;
6. All of this should be paid for by the League and NFLPA.
I agree that Dr. Amen should take the lead on the study. I also recently returned from a 3-day evaluation after fighting with the 49-ers Work Comp carrier – The Travelers – for 3-plus months to get approval for my visit (after already being referred there by my primary care). My results from Dr. Amen were not good, as the result of my 9 VP shunt brain surgeries I have endured since being injured during the ’81 season with the SF 49′ers. Dr. Amen stated he would have me rated at 80% disabled. Unfortunately with 3 children and a wife, I can’t afford to take time off from my environmental consulting business. It’s getting much harder to just concentrate, much less get work accomplished and billing out the door.
Due to incredible incompetence on the 49′ers Workers Comp carrier, The Travelers, over these last 28 years, which has taken an incredible toil on my marriage, my wife’s health AND the health of my children – three things I value most in life behind God himself – I have literally hit the end of my rope and notified The Travelers Insurance Co. on Friday I will no longer continue to play their game and will file suit (I already was forced to sue for Workers Comp and won in 1986). They quickly responded with an offer to reimburse me for $26 in copy and fax costs I incurred on Friday, sending THEM results of Dr Amen’s tests from one month ago! (No joke!) I had thought all my Doctors would have received the data long ago and started formulating a plan to get me back on track. Dr. Amen stated in his diagnosis of me, “I think George is at a very high risk for developing dementia in the coming decade without intensive intervention.” So then what does the 49′ers Workers Comp carrier do? They wait one month AFTER I returned from my exam to e-mail me. They couldn’t figure out how to get in touch with Jill at Dr. Amen’s clinic to have my results forwarded to all my Doctors!
Anyone else with a little backbone and male organs who wants to raise some hell? I’ve had it and am one motivated SOB if someone wants to go to war with me.
I wish Dr. No was still around. I would LOVE to discuss concussions with him.
George Visger
San Francisco 49′ers
1980 & 1981
John Hogan
November 25th, 2009 at 7:33 pm #
Bruce,
You are absolutely right that we can’t let the measures the League and the PA are taking for active players serve as any substitute for doing the right thing for retired players.
George,
At the Summit in Vegas one of the proposed changes that I suggested for the NFL Disability Plan was payment of benefits along the lines of service-connected disability for Veterans and/or an expansion of Line of Duty benefits. Pay guys for percentage of disability even if they’re working. I know some guys with tremendous disabilities who have to stay employed – even if they aren’t making much money – only to maintain health insurance.
Irv – thanks!
And Happy Thanksgiving to all working to bring justice to retired players -even if we have different ideas and methods on how to achieve that common goal.
John Hogan
Disability Attorney
irv cross
November 26th, 2009 at 9:40 pm #
Hey Gang:
Can anyone help George? Is there an attorney, a physician or insurance expert to help him resolve his issues with the 49ers? Looks like he has his back against the wall. George, I feel your pain. What can I do to help? I’m not a doctor or an attorney but I know a lot of influential people.
How can I help?
Irv Cross
1961 – 1969
Philadelphia Eagles & LA Rams