On Sunday, the Denver Post published an article and interview I did last week with sports journalist, Terry Frei. Over the course of our conversation which mostly covered the issues of injuries and concussions and the subsequent consequences of the League’s general attitude of denial at all levels. (A link to that article is at the bottom of this post.) At one point in our conversation, I told Terry, “The concussion issue, if not handled right, has the potential to end football.” (My emphasis.) What I did NOT say was that the concussion issue would end football. No sooner than Terry’s article was posted, then the other media and bloggers immediately re-wrote the story and started to misquote me. The worst misquote? NFL.com with this headline: Ex-player Dave Pear says concussion issue could end NFL. Not really what I said at all.
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Most of our readers know that my long battle has always been about legal and open access to OUR earned pension and disability benefits. And any resolution on concussions will need to address three separate groups of players: Past, Present and Future. (By the way, you might remember that this slogan used to be on all our NFLPA membership cards.) Each of the retired players who played will need to have direct access to their benefits that should include testing and treatments from their football-related concussions and brain damage, as well as access to assisted care and monitoring in later years. There is no doubt that most of the earlier players from the 50′s and 60′s were not given the safest equipment during their playing careers. It was even more about the money back then than it is today – just ask the men who played on the original hard surfaces of Astro Turf about the toll it took on their bodies and their heads. All for the savings the owners made from not having to maintain real turf. And they went on strike in the late 50′s and early 60′s not for more money but to make the owners pay for their uniforms and equipment.
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For the present-day players, the addition of independent neurologists on the sidelines certainly helps, along with better-defined rules to ensure that concussed players don’t return to the game unless cleared by experts (no more Dr. No’s). Many of the new rules are a good step in the right direction. Newer treatments such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) are being shown to shorten recovery while helping with healing to the damage that concussions leave behind. Even if owners are more concerned about profits, the ROI on getting a million-dollar-a-year asset back on the field in half the normal time makes pure business sense. And while the League is at it, a great PR move would be to allow retired players free access to these hyperbaric chambers when they’re not being used by the team.
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For future players, any improvements in the rules and knowledge gained from players past and present can only serve to provide them with a much safer game while still preserving the game of football as we know and love it. But if we’re going to save football, players from the past, present and future will need to work together in order to help protect each other first. Current and future players owe the retired players a priceless debt for the sacrifices they paid with their bodies and brains – as well as the long years of denial – to get to this point where there is finally a serious discussion on something that affects us all. The players of the future will surely also benefit from the way the game is shaped for today’s players.
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Ex-NFL player Dave Pear seeks to change league policy on concussions

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Thurs. May 9, 2012 10:40 pm PST
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Uploaded complete 896-page study to Scribd ; go to bottom of this post to read.
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How many of you even remember that way back in 1991, the Dept. of Health & Human Services sent out questionnaires to a large group of us retired NFL football players who played professionally since 1959? The study was to verify or counter a popular belief at the time that retired football players had shorter life spans. Like myself, many of you have also confirmed that you were told years ago to take your pensions early as you would not survive past the age of 55. It meant that your pension checks were discounted for taking early retirement but – based on a false interpretation of a so-called law by management that included those at the highest levels – it also disqualified those who took their pensions from receiving disability benefits as well. You can read about how Gene Upshaw had his words handed back to him in this early article from Michael Leahy in the Washington Post (Feb. 2008): Click HERE to read that article with attorney Lanny Davis’ answer. You can also read about how even Johnny Unitas was cheated out of his earned – and badly-needed – disability benefits by his own Union: Click HERE to read that post.
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Here’s a copy of the original letter from HHS in 1991. (We uploaded a copy of the original letter as well as the recent correspondence to Scribd for viewing and to make it downloadable. You can also click the Fullscreen button to enlarge it for easier navigation – just hit the EXIT FULLSCREEN button key to close):
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1991 Dept HHS Letter RE: NFL Football Players
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Dept of HHS NFL Study
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What’s not covered in this study that took over 20 years to complete? Concussions, brain injuries and long-term effects. While some of us may be happy to now hear that we’re going to be living longer, for too many of our families already seeing the memory loss and symptoms of dementia in many of you, this means that you may end up in need of longer assisted care than the average male. Small pensions, little or no access to disability benefits and the prospect of expensive long-term care for those with declining mental capacity. Sounds like one more heads-we-win-tails-you-lose proposition from the NFLPA and the NFL. Again.
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May 9, 2012 • Here’s the entire 896-page study from the NIOHS:
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Complete NIOHS NFL Study
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With so many areas to cover this year at our Second Annual Independent Football Veterans Conference, we’ve adopted a broadcast format and assembled discussion panels with audience participation instead of individual speakers for the most part. Each panel will be broadcast as a separate topic covering the most important issues and questions retired players want to know.
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Each panelist will be given an opportunity to talk approximately 5 – 10 minutes about their particular areas of expertise and interest after which 30 – 45 minutes will then be devoted to general discussions and questions from our studio audience and our online viewers. For a list of our panelists and speakers, click HERE. We’ll be posting our Panelists’ Bios shortly.
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All retired players welcome to participate in this live event but be sure to register for your entry pass today - click HERE – and book you flight and room(s) at the South Point as soon as possible! The Conference is open to all retired football players by simply registering to attend. Media and other guests are limited and by invitation only – click HERE to contact us.
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Each panelist will be given an opportunity to talk for approximately 5 – 10 minutes about their particular areas of expertise and interest, after which 30 – 45 minutes will then be devoted to general discussions and questions from our studio audience and our online viewers. For a list of our panelists and speakers, click HERE. We’ll be posting our Panelists’ Bios shortly.
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2012 IFV Conference Schedule

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If you haven’t signed up to attend our Second Annual Independent Football Veterans Conference this April 20 – 22 in Las Vegas, you may want to book your plane tickets and rooms this week while the rates are still low. Sign up for our Conference and reserve your room by clicking HERE. This year, we’ll be be using a different format to allow us to present more information and answer more questions that retired players have been asking:
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What’s the latest news on the lawsuit against the NFLPA? When the NFLPA decertified just after the lockout this summer, legally and technically they had no right to represent current or retired players. Yet magically, the Legacy Fund and other benefits suddenly appeared in the weeks immediately following the ratification of the new CBA and recertification of the NFLPA. All with virtually no input or vote from the majority of retired players. We’ll have representatives from some of the law firms there to discuss what has happened so far.
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Why is it that every time a song or a film gets played or sold, a musician, an actor or a composer gets paid a royalty? So why aren’t retired football players paid anything whenever they’re in a video game or on a DVD?
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What are some of the more recent discoveries in concussions and traumatic brain injuries? Is there anything I can do to slow down or improve my mind and my memory?
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And what about concussions? Most of us suffered from countless concussions over our careers. Our coaches and managers taught us to call them ‘zingers’ and sent us back into the game as quickly as possible. And what about the long-term effects? If the League and the owners denied most of us any disability benefits from the effects of concussions, yet in creating the 88 Plan, they finally acknowledged those long-term effects only after it’s taken its final toll from our families both financially and emotionally.
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There are so many lawsuits currently fighting for every player’s attention, hear all the important issues and present your questions to the panel on concussions and equipment. We’ll be covering concussions and equipment on both days of the Conference: On Friday, our law panels will be discussing the legal aspects and what’s being done today as well as reviewing future action. On Saturday, our medical and neurological panels will be addressing topics ranging from how to detect and recognize the symptoms of a brain injury to questions such as just how effective have helmets been in protecting players from concussions?
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And how about the Legacy Fund? Some of you are only finally receiving your retroactive checks while many others are still waiting for return calls from the benefits office in Baltimore. And why were the widows overlooked for the increase?
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Why are more players winning their Social Security Disability and California Workers Compensation cases than those reaching favorable Disability and Pension verdicts with their own Plan? And just how legal is the Plan itself and the way it’s been managed? And just who do those people who run the Plan work for anyway? A panel of Disability and Workers Compensation attorneys will be there to discuss the latest cases and answer your questions.
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If the NFL gets to pick the best of the best out of all the college football teams, then what responsibilities should they – and the universities who benefit from their lucrative football programs – bear when those players sustain life-changing injuries? For many of these college players, the football scholarship is just that: A scholarship based on their abilities as an athlete. Attorney Steve Berman’s firm has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on behalf of college athletes and will be sitting on a panel that will prove to be very informative.
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What new findings have come out of hyperbaric oxygen treatments and how will these new studies advance the general use of HBOT treatments not only for football players but also for our returning veterans and for everyone else who has ever had a concussion? Hear what some of the foremost experts in the field have to say about how much more quickly hyperbaric treatments are becoming accepted as one of the most cost-effective ways to treat concussions and brain injuries.
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And The Amen Clinic will also be back to present results of three new brain studies they’ve completed over the past year.
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I’m so excited about this year’s Conference that I know I’ve gone over the Top 10 Questions we all want to ask! The full list of our panelists’ biographies will be posting up this week. Stay tuned!
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So be sure to sign up for our Conference and reserve your room by clicking HERE!
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Wearing my Riddell helmet

To My Fellow Retired Players,
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There are so many law firms who recently have filed concussion lawsuits since my attorneys originally filed the first two lawsuits EVER on concussions. I am glad to see that others have joined this litigation to hold the NFL accountable for hiding the long term risks of brain injury from all of us.
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In my opinion, if you have cognitive problems, you should join one of these lawsuits.
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The unique thing about the lawsuits being filed by my attorneys is that they ALSO sue Riddell and NFL Properties. This is something others have chosen not to do so far. I’ve also signed with Hausfeld LLP in their lawsuit against the NFLPA.
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In the end, let’s hope all these attorneys will unite and work together for the many debilitated retirees and are successful for each of us in the end. And I truly hope that we will also collect from Riddell for their part on the concussion epidemic.
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For more information, you’re welcome to contact my attorney, Jason Luckasevic, at (412) 338-9460 or (412) 400-6570 or e-mail him at jluckasevic@gpwlaw.com
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Regards,
Dave & Heidi Pear
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We also received this word of caution from Jim Mitchell at Hausfeld LLP regarding the growing number of law firms and the various claims of being lead attorneys. This is advice well worth following:
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Dear Retired Players:
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In order to clear up some misinformation that is currently being circulated within the retired players community about the concussion suits, please be advised that if you have signed onto a concussion suit with one firm, it is important not to sign up with a second firm. All of the personal injury concussion suits will be consolidated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and a leadership structure for all the cases will be established by the Court. If any law firm is advising you that they are the “lead” firm in the concussion matter, please be advised that this is untrue. NO single law firm has been granted leadership of the concussion matters despite rumors to the contrary. To date, 29 different concussion suits have been filed. A leadership structure is currently being negotiated by numerous firms and will likely result in a joint leadership role for many of the firms involved.
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Hausfeld continues to press ahead with its own personal injury concussion case (Boyd v. NFL) which was filed on behalf of over 100 former players.
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Hausfeld will be amending its concussion complaint in the next week or so and will add any and all former players who have not yet signed onto a case.
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If you have any questions or would like to know if you have previously signed onto a concussion suit, please call me at (202) 540-7148 to discuss. Hausfeld maintains a master list of ALL former players who have signed onto a concussion case, whether it is with Hausfeld or another law firm.
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Thank you.
Jim Mitchell
Hausfeld, LLP
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As I had mentioned in an earlier post, a deposit showed up last Friday in my bank account that wasn’t quite as much as my normal disability payment (and they always show up on the first of the month). It wasn’t until yesterday that a letter arrived in my mail to explain what several of our readers had also just received. No doubt, some genius in the front office figured they’d better get these payments out just before yearend so they could get some tax benefits for 2011.
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For those of you who still haven’t received your letter yet, we’ve uploaded a copy to Scribd for easy viewing and to make it downloadable for printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the center of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (and just hit the ESC key to close):
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Dave Pear’s Disability Increase Notice
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We also understand that the new Legacy Benefits will be calculated retroactively to Aug. 1, 2011 but we’re not sure when those retroactive payments will start showing up or exactly when the first increased pension checks will start arriving. We hope everyone will continue to share their own experiences with the other retired players and their families. Once again, it looks like the retired players are the last to be informed and the last to be paid. That’s why they pay DeMaurice “Upshaw” Smith those big $1 million bonuses. (Click comic to enlarge)
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So this just came in from Sam McCullum yesterday afternoon. And now it turns out that they don’t want you to sign ONE form before you get YOUR money. Nope. They plan on sending you TWO forms. We caution everyone to wait until everyone’s had a chance to review these documents. We wonder if the active players had to jump through any hoops before they got their checks. Somehow we don’t think so…
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By the way, Sam mentions the word ‘hide‘ (as in ‘hiding your money’ from child support and ex-wives) in his update (my red highlights below). He advises us like we’re a bunch of criminals.
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At the rate this is going, is Sam talking about March of 2012? Or 2013? And will our checks include interest from August? Someone is making interest.
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Most members of the NFLPA received the first announcement in their Inboxes earlier today along with different variations from many sources. The second, more detailed announcement comes out of the NFL Communications office. If you note in the league’s release, credit is graciously being given to several retired players who took part in later discussions held directly with Commissioner Goodell and the owners, something that’s clearly missing from the NFLPA’s announcement. In fact, the NFLPA and its representatives did NOT attend that meeting held in Washington DC.
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We’re posting both announcements here exactly as received:
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It seems that the PA is still managing to put out as much as they can without saying anything while still blaming everyone else for holding the process up. Oh wait – they’re in Washington DC! That’s what EVERYONE does up there! We forgot!
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So over the past week, we’ve received a few more ‘communiques’ from our local NFLPA chapter via Sam McCullum and it always seems that the guy in the room with no vote or real voice on any matters has the clearest take on everything. Jim McFarland – retired players’ representative – has provided some of the clearest analysis on what’s proposed in the final CBA for the Legacy Fund and how it will affect pre-93 players. Here are the e-mails and comments starting with the latest first. We also included a copy of that meeting proposal document referenced in the most recent e-mail and have loaded it up to Scribd for easier reading and printing.
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One more thing: And the NFLPA and Sam McCullum says none of you should be reading any of the blogs to get your information. Of course, they didn’t attend what may have been one of the most important meetings of the year regarding retirees because they didn’t want to hear what everyone else wanted them to hear so they can’t tell you about it. (?!!)
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This first e-mail was just added on Saturday afternoon:
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An old teammate and someone I considered a friend passed away over the weekend. Last week, it had been reported – erroneously – that Lee Roy Selmon had died of a stroke in Tampa (click HERE to read the story). But then I received a phone call this weekend from a mutual teammate, Council Rudolph, that Lee Roy had indeed finally succumbed a couple of days after his initial stroke. (Story HERE.) We all played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the late 70′s and Lee Roy went on to make it into the Hall of Fame, eventually settling into a post-football career as very successful restauranteur and philanthropist in the Tampa Bay area.
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But what has bothered me a lot after I first read about Lee Roy’s passing were a few journalists who insisted on comparing Lee Roy Selmon’s life to the late Dave Duerson (who committed suicide back in February this year). I have no doubt that Lee Roy and Duerson both died as a result of their brain injuries from professional football. But that is where the comparisons should end.
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Lee Roy and I were teammates in Tampa Bay from 1976 to 1978. Lee Roy was a truly nice guy and everyone liked him (unless you had to face him on the field!). However, to pass away at the age of 56 is way too young. We all know that concussions and strokes go hand-in-hand. His brother Dewey is also a nice guy and he played for the Buccaneers too. But Lee Roy was a very private person so it may be difficult to find out any of the details concerning his death. We can only hope that his family might share a little information about his stroke so that it may help many of us who are also facing a similar fate.
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Here’s one more piece on Lee Roy’s big heart and generosity:
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Selmon’s generosity touched prep sports

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Your wonderful Union at work. I received this short update from the Seattle Chapter’s Sam McCullum earlier this morning with a memo attached from Dee Becker in The Washington office. Basically, it’s more nothing. McCullum says that it’s basically all the NFL’s fault because their Alumni and George Martin are still trying to interject themselves as representatives of retired players while Becker is saying, “Gee, we already know what’s best for retired players and we’ve already decided on how to distribute this Legacy Fund money. So you might as well just shut up and take what you get!”
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So I guess the thousands of retired players who have actually spoken up for their own voice and their own vote are chopped liver (or dog food as Gene Upshaw used to say)? Meanwhile, why is it that Disability Attorney John Hogan continues to dig up details just by reading the published CBA? (Click HERE to read John’s post.)
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And for your weekend entertainment, we also added a video of James Brown‘s old classic, Talking Loud and Saying Nothing to the end of this post.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Dave has still been included in this ongoing local (Seattle) e-mail chain from yesterday as he’s still a dues-paying member of the NFLPA. We’re posting these four latest e-mail exchanges here in unedited format for viewing and we’re also posting a separate rebuttal in a second post (click HERE).
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From: Harrison, Nolan [mailto:Nolan.HarrisonIII@nflplayers.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 1:35 PM
Subject: RE: Former Player’s Benefit Increase?
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There will be an official benefits statement coming from both parties. A couple of things that were accidentally left out of the CBA summary (sorry, everyone is rushing to meet the memberships demand for information) was the improvements to Plan 88 more on workers comp and long term care.
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