George Visger’s Letter to Rep. Linda Sanchez
Dear Congresswoman Sanchez:
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I applaud you for your support in our effort to find justice and benefits for critically injured retired NFL players.
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I grew up in Stockton, CA and played for Bob Mattos at Stagg High in 1974 and 1975 before attending the University of Colorado on a football scholarship where I majored in Fisheries Biology. The NY Jets drafted me in the 6th round of the 1980 draft in April (I had not completed my degree yet, as 90% of the players drafted probably haven’t), and the Defensive line coach convinced me at minicamp the next day that if I used steroids to put on 20 – 25 lbs of muscle before camp (July), there was a spot for me on the team. Keep in mind, I started 3 years at Colorado and weighed 259 pounds at the time which was average for a defensive lineman. I was also bench pressing 430 which was as good as any of the rookies and free agents they had signed.
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My father never finished High school, as he lied about his age (17) and enlisted in the Navy to fight in WWII his Senior year of high school in Michigan, when WWII broke out. He fought in every major campaign in the South Pacific and met my mother when his ship was decommissioned at the Port of Stockton after the war. My parents raised 6 of us kids in a 3-bedroom, 1-bath, 1,000 sq. ft. home (with no air conditioning!). Both of my older brothers and I played college football and my goal was to buy my parents a new home and my father a boat when I made it into the NFL (my goal from the first day I played at age 11). My oldest brother had a degree in Anthropology, and coached football at the HS and college level for 25 years, my other brother became an attorney, one sister (Sharon Newman) owns Newman and Jones CPA firm, and my youngest sister married and adopted 2 abused brothers aged 5 and 7. My oldest sister is disabled with fibromyalgia.
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I returned to Colorado in May of 1980 after our 2 day minicamp right after the draft and acquired prescriptions (forged by an ex-teammate of mine!) for several steroids. When I returned to the Jets’ camp in July I had already put on 16 pounds and weighed 275 pounds and I was bench pressing 460.
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The Jets cut me at the end of preseaso, and I have always regretted letting that coach make a life-altering decision for me. I thought it would be worth it (I was 21 at the time).
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I was picked up by the San Francisco 49′ers in 1980 prior to their first Dallas game (~ 5th game of the season), and sustained a major concussion on the first play I was involved in early in the first quarter. The trainers said I went through 25-30 smelling salts during the game, as they would give me a handful each time I came out, to clear my head and I would go back in. I have no memory of that game or several other similar games during my 13 years of football.
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Early in my second season with the 49′ers (1981 season), I sustained a knee injury that subsequently required surgery. Several weeks later, I underwent emergency brain surgery (Sept of ’81), at Stanford Hospital, by Dr. Koenig. I had gone to the 49′ers trainers and Doctors complaining of killer headaches every afternoon/night, projectile vomiting, balls of light in each eye and loss of hearing , all of which they said was due to high blood pressure and was prescribed blood pressure medications (Dr. Clint and Dr. Fred Behling, orthopedic surgeon who did my knee, which required 2 more surgeries and a Gore Tex ACL transplant to repair properly 4 years after I was done playing – 1986).
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In the September 1981 season, I suffered focal point paralysis of my left arm one night while I was having my usual symptoms listed above. Dr. Behling took one look in my eye and said I was having a brain hemorrhage and recommended I go home, lie down and drive myself down to Stanford that afternoon to see a Dr. Adornato (certainly wouldn’t want to call an ambulance ’til you and the rest of the 49′ers staff and owners could get your stories straight).
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I did the above and ended up having an emergency VP Shunt brain surgery that night as I had developed hydrocephalus (or water on the brain) from repeated concussions over the years. I remember turning 23 while in Stanford Intensive Care in 1981 after my first brain surgery. I had 2 more emergency brain surgeries to replace the shunt, May of ’82, just 4 months after we won Super Bowl 16 and was forced to sue the 49′ers for Workers Comp to get the bills paid. I had creditors on me for nearly 5 years ’til I successfully won my case in 1986. By that time, I had two more knee surgeries on my left knee in which Dr. Behling removed ALL the cartilage despite his records from the surgery which stated 80 % of my Anterior Crutiate Ligament (ACL) was torn from the femur and he had never repaired earlier. It took two more surgeries in ’86 to repair that, one of which was a Gore Tex ACL transplant by Dr Steadman, in Lake Tahoe (which they quit doing in ’91 as the Gore Tex wears huge holes in the knee joint when you move). I am a wildlife biologist, and hunting guide and I hike several hundred miles/year, thus my knee is more than worn out now.
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I am currently on brain surgery #9 and have had several grand mal seizures and been on seizure medications for 20+ years with the exception of a few years when I weaned myself of them (horrible side effects with destroying your short term memory). I went back on after a major 55-minute grand mal seizure in 1999 and have been on them since.
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I did finally complete my Biology degree from Sacramento State University in 1990 at age 32 between brain surgeries #4 through #7 (I had 4 brain surgeries and 2 grand mal seizures in one 10-month period while completing all my Chemistry, Physics, and Pre-Calculus requirements and obtaining a Class B General Contractors license and running my own company). I am currently on brain surgery #9 with more to come possibly.
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In October of last year, I was evaluated at Dr. Amen’s clinic in New Port Beach, CA, after being referred there by my primary care on July 6. I fought tooth-and-nail with The Travelers (49′ers work comp) ’til October, when I was finally approved to be evaluated. Dr. Amen stated after 3 days of 12 – 14 hours of testing each day that it’s a miracle I am even functioning, much less involved in 3 separate businesses and conducting Motivational/Goal setting speeches. He has invited me to be on the Oprah Show with him coming up soon.
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I was the main speaker at the Hydrocephalus Association 5 Mile Awareness Walk in San Francisco, and one in Chico last October, and I was a speaker at the California Legislature Outdoor Sporting Caucus Dinner to 550 people from the Capital last February, 2009, along with Senator Dennis Hollingsworth, Senator Tom Harman, Assembly Member Cathleen Galgiani and the heads of several environmental agencies. I offer my services to you in any way I can assist in getting this all too important message out, as I am duly impressed by your attitude.
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I have also been meeting with Dr. Bennet Omalu on a regular basis and was offered a position on his board. Dr. Omalu’s studies on the brains of deceased NFL player such as Mike Webster, Andre Waters (suicide), Terry Long (suicide), Justin Strzelczyk (suicide), Tom McHale (OD’ed), Gerald Small (I knew him, he was a hero football player from my hometown of Stockton) and others is what precipitated the Senate hearing on head injuries earlier this year, despite the fact the NFL has suppressed these studies since 2002. They should be held criminally liable for all the death and destruction they have brought to Lord-knows-how-many families.
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Please feel free to call on me anytime. I have learned that my Orange Bowl ring (we played Ohio State in the 77 Orange Bowl, my freshman year at Colorado) and Super Bowl ring are good attention-getters and help to shed light on issues I am passionate about.
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Head injuries in sports, children’s issues and environmental issues are all near and dear to my heart and I am more than impressed by your courage and perseverance to tackle an issue which has been swept under the rug for much too long. I have had more than one group tell me it is a very daunting task to take on the multibillion dollar NFL industry but your bulldog determination is very impressive.
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If I were putting a team together, I would love to have you as my defensive captain!
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Keep up the good work. There are many, many people watching what you do and cheering you on. It is imperative we win this battle.
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George Visger
Survivor of 9 football-related brain surgeries
San Francisco 49′ers 1980 & 1981
Principal Wildlife Biologist
Visger & Associates Environmental Consulting
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RobertinSeattle
January 8th, 2010 at 11:47 AM #
Be sure to say ‘Hi’ to Oprah for all of us, George! Roger Goodell will be green with envy – HE’S never been invited to appear on her show. Maybe he needs a head concussion to get invited! ;-)
Dr. Amen and his team have made great strides in helping retired players both with their brain health as well as through his public advocacy. Let’s keep it moving forward!
Dave Pear
January 8th, 2010 at 1:05 PM #
The NFL and the NFLPA are positively guilty of “Breaching their Fiduciary Duty” to retired players and their beneficiaries over disability benefits!
Dave & Heidi Pear
Bob Avellini
January 8th, 2010 at 7:41 PM #
A very well-written letter. Let’s hope it doesn’t land on deaf ears!
Bob Avellini
Chicago Bears
1975 – 1984
Larry Kaminski
January 8th, 2010 at 8:37 PM #
George:
I was very impressed by your letter to Rep. Sanchez. I can also say it is an amazing chain of events. You are a very brave young man and your story needs to be acted upon sooner rather than later.
Hopefully, this year we can unite as one team with a spokesman that has the mission of protecting all of us. Men, it is time to shelve the egos, the need to be the main man, the need to write and get credit for a better letter. We need to make something happen. Stories like George, Mike Webster and other great players are being told and the emotion follows but no action by the NFL or NFLPA. We were all important players at one time and we were hard workers and took on all challenges. Now we have to take our determination and pass it on to someone who can make things happen. Unless we get this done, we will just be fodder for emotional stories.
Happy New Year to all!
Larry Kaminski
Denver Broncos
1966 – 1973
Bob Grant
January 9th, 2010 at 4:22 AM #
Fellas,
Please know that we have made good progress over the last year and that we’re just getting started.
Absolutely the only reason that the NFL and the NFLPA have given ground on concussions is because of pressure from Independent Retired Players, Congress, courageous doctors like Omalu and Amen and writers like Alan Schwarz. Examine the record and you’ll see that it’s a FACT.
There are other issues that are important to us though and we must not let the NFL and the NFLPA distract us and the public with a single issue and concern. You fight a war to win the war, not just one battle!
We’re just getting started. NO ONE GROUP is going to make this happen for us. We have to do it for ourselves as we have been doing recently. We CAN do it! Has any group helped us to build and establish this blog as the voice that it has become? Certainly not!
“Nice guys” have not put us on the front line as fighters for our rights and cause. How many years have we listened to those who told us to “cool it, to go along, to get along, to be patient and to work with the system?”
“Those holding power historically never surrender that power voluntarily.”
Bob Grant
Independent Activist/Advocate
& Parrish Team Member