Irv Cross: An Idea that Will Work
With things continuing to heat up in the off-season between the NFLPA and the NFL during a no-CBA year, the real issues that continue to at the forefront for retired players will never change: disability and pension reform, as well as access to medical care after football. These issues have made their way into the mainstream media and have certainly gotten the attention of our representatives on Capitol Hill. Nonetheless, a whole new set of apologists have come on the scene to point fingers at the messengers. In recent months, we’ve started to see more attack posts blaming the messengers for not coming up with solutions. To answer some of these people – at least in part – we haven’t even begun to point out everything that’s wrong yet! And if you can only waste your time criticizing everyone else, maybe you might consider putting up a few suggestions of your own? Or maybe the NFL’s got your tongue?
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We’ll use that as an introduction to today’s post. Over his lifetime, Irv Cross has been involved with football at almost every level both on and off the field, as well as with athletics in general. As one of football’s senior spokesmen, Irv’s seen and learned a lot over the years.
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Irv recently sent in one of his ideas on health insurance for all retired players – it makes so much sense that we can understand why no one’s thought about it yet.
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I was the Director of Athletics at Idaho State University from 1996-1998 before going to Macalester College as their Athletic Director. While at Idaho State, I was on the NCAA D-1 Business Finance Committee and Chaired the Catastrophic Insurance Committee. We were able to establish a catastrophic insurance program for all member schools through Mutual of Omaha. I am writing for two reasons. First, I am attaching a clip from older article from Newsport Production that even quotes the NFLPA’s Frank Woschitz about inadequate medical coverage for retired players.
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Team physicians keep professional athletes game ready. But players–active and retired–must pay the cost of injury after team insurance ends.
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Professional athletes are pressured to play hurt, according to Frank Woschitz, the Director of the Retired National Football League Players Association. “This makes purchasing medical insurance a reality,” says Woschitz.
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“One way they (the teams) do this is to keep doctors on retainer to provide operations that keep players playing,” says Woschitz. He deals with the life-long after effects of players who play hurt. According to Woschitz, the players pay a bigger price physically and financially once they retire. “There isn’t a health care plan for professional football players, retired or active, because none are affordable,” says Woschitz.
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Some retired injured players have resorted to filing workers’ compensation claims to force owners to pay for some of their future medical bills. If a physician declares a player suffers “permanent disability,” then under California workers’ compensation rules the team could be liable for the cost of treatment of those injuries for the rest of the player’s life.
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Read the rest of this article over at Stonehopper - click HERE.
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Secondly, I’m also attaching a summary of the Catastrophic Insurance program I chaired for the NCAA. We just posted it up on Scribd for easier access and viewing. (Click on the FULL SCREEN button to enlarge it for easier navigation – hit the ESC key to close. You can also click the DOWNLOAD button to save a PDF copy for printing and reading.)
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NCAA Catastrophic Injury Insurance Benefit Summary
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I think the Management Council and the NFLPA Executive Committee should look into a Catastrophic Insurance type program to help resolve some of the retired players’ biggest disability issues. The NCAA has had this program in all of their member schools for years and it certainly seems to be working.
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If the NCAA can do it, why not the NFL?
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1961 – 1969
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May 11th, 2010 at 12:16 pm #
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Dave Pear
May 11th, 2010 at 12:47 pm #
Once a player becomes unable to play football in the NFL, he’s cut (released) from the team immediately.
At that point, the retired player then has to become a debt collector to 32+ billionaires who own a $40 billion industry called the NFL that grossed $8.5 billion last year (and growing) and who refuse to allow disabled players access to their earned benefits. Because of GREED, these ambitious opportunists (NFL owners) now consider their retired and injured ex-employees and their family as “inconsequential.” Their attitude is “Let ‘em eat cake.” In other words, you’re on your own.
This is the harsh reality of GREED in the NFL.
The NFL, the NFLPA, the Retirement Board and the Commissioner of the NFL (who also happens to be the Chairman of the Disability Board) have allowed the Groom Law Group to violate ERISA Law and HIPAA by creating a disability debacle that has caused so much misery for retired NFL players.
This “Breach of Fiduciary duty” with the Groom Law Group has gone on for almost 20 years! And nothing has really changed.
Thanks, Irv, for your irrefutable logic and support of your retired brothers!
Regards,
Dave & Heidi Pear
Walt "Flea" Roberts
May 11th, 2010 at 4:48 pm #
Great Idea, Irv! Thanks for your critical thinking.
Walt “Flea” Roberts
Cleveland Browns NFL champs 1964 (’65 & ’66)
New Orleans Saints 1967
Washington Redskins 1969 & 1970
Mike Davis
May 12th, 2010 at 8:04 am #
Very sound thinking..Now let’s get out of theory mode and do something about it.
Also a while back, I believe I did mention how we could have helped ourselves. That thought was for each man who received a portion of the Class action lawsuit (GLA) to take one payment, then donate the 2nd payment for Health insurance as a group for us all.
Ah..what the heck do I know anyway… But I do know this: We’re all in this together!
Mike Davis
Oakland Raiders
1977 – 1987
Mike Pyle
May 12th, 2010 at 9:46 am #
I think you know, Irv, the NCAA schools are public entities that have to report to the people in each state. Dave Pear said it all: There IS “Greed in the NFL.”
The owners don’t care about the retired players. We’re forced to pay for our own health insurance (if we can even afford it) and the owners get to save another “buck.”
Mike Pyle
Chicago Bears
1961 – 1969
NFLPA President, 1967
Dave Pear
May 12th, 2010 at 10:20 am #
Mike,
Thanks for your good suggestion! The problem is that Upshaw sold out his football brothers to the point that so many are now in survival mode.
The NFL does NOT have:
1) Guaranteed Contracts;
2) The disability plan is illegal and a complete debacle;
3) The pension is barely a car payment and next to nothing;
4) No medical.
With all those profits, you’d think the NFL would be able to at least match MLB, NBA or NHL for benefits.
However, when Upshaw left the building just before the Players Inc. trial that convicted Gene and his gang of “Breaching their Fiduciary Duty” and “Breaching their GLA agreement contracts” with over 2,000 retired players, Upshaw’s estate was paid:
1) $16,000,000;
2) The NFLPA Leadership re-named the building “UPSHAW PLACE”;
3) The NFLPA Leadership re-named the dire need fund, “The Gene Upshaw Dire Need Fund;
4) How much more money was Upshaw able to hide in offshore banks?
Unless you were a friend of Upshaw, he was a ruthless thief!
Mike, I hope you received your disability benefits from the Retirement Board because for over 30 years, I have been fighting for my disability benefits along with penalties and interest!
Oh, by the way – thanks again for your interception against the Browns that made it possible for us to continue in the playoffs and win Super Bowl XV!
For 2 years, Al Davis (owner of the Oakland Raiders) insisted I play with a broken neck. During Super Bowl XV, I was able to make some big plays and I thought Davis may remember my injury once I could no longer play because of my contribution in this big game. However, Davis turned his back on me and cut me during training camp the summer after we won the Super Bowl and said, “I will not take responsibility for your neck injury!” So I went on my own to the hospital and the doctor drilled a bulging disc out of my neck with a hand drill! I was a Pro Bowl selection in 1978 and then released two years later by the Raiders at the age of 28.
4) That is the Al Davis I know!
Regards,
Dave & Heidi Pear
Irv Cross
May 12th, 2010 at 1:17 pm #
Guys:
I submitted my catastrophic insurance plan to show you one that is in effect and works. This is not theory; this is a working plan. If you have been a part of an NCAA program since the late 90′s, you have been covered by this plan.
And Mike – you’re right! It looks like retired players are becoming a rapidly declining number; wait long enough and we’ll go away! Owners’ “GREED” – as in our case – is not good but destructive! Why can’t the NFLPA see the NFL’s books of account?
Seems to me all the answers to our questions are there.
Irv Cross
Philadelphia Eagles & LA Rams
1961 – 1969
Henry Bradley
May 19th, 2010 at 10:13 am #
Thanks Burt fof the information about the w-2. I already have a copy of my 1986 tax return that shows I only made $5,000.00 that year!
However, the NFLPA said I was paid $70,000! Can any of you guys please provide me some addresses of people I need to send this information to? The money is important but proving I am telling the truth is just as important to me.
Henry Bradley
Cleveland Browns
1979 – 1982
Burt Grossman
May 20th, 2010 at 7:45 am #
No problem, Henry. I also didn’t show any Severance on my personal tax return from that year. Yet – just like you – the Eagles claim to have sent a W-2 in to the IRS on my behalf that shows I was paid my $40,000 Severance! I guess it went to the same place my check was mailed!
This is beginning to turn into a sad joke and I really hope someone from government steps up to actually consider an investigation. To be quite honest, right now I don’t know who you can send the papers to for help; realistically, all those various assistance groups have been completely useless and have done absolutely nothing, the NFLPA was doing nothing and of course, the NFL did nothing. The only action that has produced anything was hiring a lawyer in Philadelphia to press this and then having it all documented publicly here on Dave’s blog so everyone could see how dirty they play. Unless everyone wants to essentially pay $40,000 in legal fees to collect $40,000 in owed Severance, there are no simple answers.
I believe we need to form a class action against the NFL on this issue and be paid what is ours plus a whole lot of interest and damages.
Burt Grossman
San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles
1989 -1994
Henry Bradley
May 21st, 2010 at 1:35 am #
Burt, thanks for the response! I feel until we do something about it ourselves, no one will listen.
Henry Bradley
Cleveland Browns
1979 – 1982
Greg Caruso
June 28th, 2010 at 11:13 pm #
Can’t all of you find a law firm willing to take your class action suit on a pro bono basis (the resulting publicity for the firm should make up for the loss of their fee) and sue the NFL”S asses??? I hope so as the suffering all of you go thru is incredibly unjust.
Greg Caruso