EDITOR’S NOTE: Author Irv Muchnick has been covering the big picture on concussions in sports and its broader effects on society in general. In following up with our most recent posts and debates with insiders from the NFLPA on their role in Disability Benefits – or lack thereof – we’re presenting three of Irv’s current posts. . . Posted with the express consent of Irv Muchnick: .
Sports Concussion Crisis a Culture-Wide Problem – Maybe a Post-Ideological One, Too
August 8‚ 2011 .
by Irvin Muchnick .
Writing in The Nation’s special August 15-22 sports issue, currently on newsstands, recently retired Denver Broncos wide receiver turned social critic Nate Jackson reflects on the football concussion crisis. Jackson is short on specifics and long on the banal (“But at what price comes the glory?”). Jackson also makes regrettable separation from the essential theme: traumatic brain injuries are not the same as blown-out knees; the National Football League’s commerce-first values inculcate amateur sports, as well; and the depth and breadth of the resulting societal fallout far exceed the public’s current perception. . continue reading »
. EDITOR’S NOTE: On Friday afternoon, NFLPA Disability Board Representative Sam McCullum wrote back to disability attorney John Hogan as part of our heated discussion on retired players’ Disability Benefits and their rights under ERISA law. (Click HERE to go back to that earlier post and be sure to read all the comments that are still coming in on that post.) We’re posting both of their letters here to continue an open review of how disability decisions are currently being made for retired players and how ERISA guidelines are not being applied. This is a must-read for any of you who have applied or plan on applying for your earned Disability Benefits. .
And before a few of you go off on us again for bringing the ghost of Gene Upshaw back into this fray, this is a direct reference to his original quote from an interview with The Washington Post’s Micheal Leahy in 2008. All too many retired players (even the late Johnny Unitas) lost their benefits because of this long-standing misinterpretation of the law. And that, my friends, is NOT bitterness – it’s reciting History. Those who do not follow or understand History are bound to make the same mistakes over and over again. .
Disability attorney John Hogan went through one more go-round with the NFL Disability Program for another older retired player recently (his name has been removed to protect the innocent). We’re posting the correspondence online so everyone can see the kind of insanity most of the older players end up going through. (And that’s only after you manage to navigate into their system.) . You just can’t make this stuff up! . We’ve posted a copy of the correspondence to Scribd for viewing and to make it downloadable. You can also click the Fullscreen button to enlarge it for easier navigation (hit the ESC key to close). . . This is the NFL Disability Plan .
Since leaving our Conference in Las Vegas, our friend Jennifer Thibeaux has been diligently working away night-and-day at editing and improving the sound quality of the video material recorded at our First Conference at the South Point Resort in Las Vegas – and she didn’t disappoint us! Jennifer’s obviously put a lot of work into ensuring that our message gets out clearly. Here are the first talks from Friday morning, March 25th. We’ll have all of the videos posted up through the weekend as they’re completed. . Dave Pear was born in Vancouver, Washington and grew up in Portland, Oregon. Dave attended the University of Washington on an athletic scholarship and played defensive tackle for the UW Huskies from 1971 – 1975. He graduated with a degree in Political Science. .
He was the first Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-26) player to be selected to the Pro Bowl in 1978 and played in Super Bowl XV in 1980 for the Oakland Raiders (first wild card to ever capture the title –Oakland Raiders 27 – Philadelphia Eagles 10). . After leaving football with severe injuries following Super Bowl XV, Dave has been fighting the NFL for his earned disability and medical benefits since 1979 and since his first application was turned down in 1983 and has become a vocal advocate for retired players’ rights. .
(The videos are hosted on Vimeo in HD and you can watch them full screen by clicking on the Expand button in the lower right corner of the video window.) .
Dave opens the Conference and talks about some of his personal battles for himself and his retired brothers: .
IFV Conference – Dave Pear from Jennifer Thibeaux on Vimeo . Attorney John Hogan is a well-known speaker on Social Security disability and frequently makes presentations throughout Georgia and nationally. He serves on the board of directors of the National Organization of Social Security Representatives and is a former co-chair of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Social Security section. You’ve seen John’s posts and comments frequently on Dave’s Blog and many others as a proactive advocate for retired football players. .
John has been advocating for a total reform of the current NFL/NFLPA Disability Plan and has been successful in many of his cases representing retired NFL players in their Disability and Social Security Disability cases. .
Here’s disability attorney John Hogan discussing the NFL/NFLPA’s broken Disability Plan as well as highlights from some of his past year’s experiences: .
All of the presentations from our Conference were streamed live on Ustream and also recorded for editing. We’re currently working on editing all of the videos and enhancing the sound quality. (HINT: Headphones might help!) However, many of you have already been asking about viewing the videos so we decided to upload them in their rough versions so those of you who couldn’t attend the Conference in person can watch them. As soon as Jennifer and her team finish the editing, we’ll get the improved versions online immediately. (The videos do take some time to load up so please be patient while each frame loads up. You can also view them in Full Screen mode by clicking on the button in the lower right corner of each video frame.)
Hall-of-Famer Ron Mix attended and spoke at our first Annual Independent Football Veterans Conference last week, held at the South Point Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. We received Ron’s overview and editorial letter this morning and we’re posting it in its entirety below. Thanks, Ron! .
You can view and read more of the entire event by going to the site by clicking HERE. (We will be updating the site constantly all week long as we finalize sound enhancements on all our videos as well as add more commentary and PowerPoints from our speakers.) And if you would like to help advance our cause by being a founding donor, please feel free to go to our Donation page by clicking HERE. . continue reading »
We’ve arrived in Las Vegas to prepare for our First Annual Independent Football Veterans Conference. In a short span of two months, we’ve been fortunate in being able to assemble a terrific lineup of speakers who will help to cover a focused range of topics that are most relevant to retired football players today: From legal matters to pensions as well as information on some of the latest discoveries and treatments for those injuries most of you have been carrying for years. You can read about the topics we’ll be covering along with a Speakers’ List over at our new 2011 Conference website – just click HERE. And you’ll also find our finalized schedule there.
We haven’t been posting as much the past couple of weeks (Thanks for picking up the slack, Evan!) because we’ve been getting things ready for our upcoming Conference later this month at The South Point in Las Vegas. If you haven’t signed up yet, time’s running out to book your trip.
Attorney John Hogan has been representing retired Tampa Bay Buccaneer Jimmie Giles to have his status changed from inactive Total & Permanent (T&P) Disability to more evident Football Degenerative T & P Disability. As with Dave’s case, Jimmie had already qualified for and was receiving Social Security Disability (also difficult to qualify for but nonetheless fair and rules-based). According to an earlier amendment to the Plan, Jimmie’s SS Disability qualified him at the very least for a new re-evaluation and reclassification with little fanfare. You can read Jimmie’s story in an earlier New York Daily News story from Wayne Coffeyby clicking HERE.
Just a quick update on two recent cases which clearly show that the NFL disability Plan (the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Retirement Plan) needs significant reform as they continue to abuse ERISA laws, due process and the retired players to whom they owe a fiduciary duty of care:
The Associated Press reports this morning that 20 current and former NFL players headed to Capitol Hill to lobby members of Congress to help avoid a lockout in 2011 if a new CBA is not reached. (Read that article by Frederick Frommer HERE.) De Smith told reporters that the players would remind Congress about the “gifts” Congress bestows on the league, such as an antitrust exemption for broadcasting contracts. (You can also read the story on ESPN HERE.)
After the Congressional hearing in June, 2007 which focused on health and disability issues of retired NFL Players, the NFL Management Council and the NFLPA jointly announced that one of the improvements to the disability system which they were adopting was the acceptance of a favorable Social Security disability decision as proof that the player was totally and permanently disabled. Shortly thereafter, the NFLPA published a White Paper indicating that this change meant that where SSA found a player disabled, they would not have to be examined by a Plan physician. Commissioner Goodell testified to that fact in the subsequent Senatorial hearing in September, 2007
I am presently representing a retired player who was found to be disabled by Social Security back in 2004 – which was within the 15-year period necessary for a player to establish the higher paying “football degenerative” category of benefits. The Plan has found this player entitled to the lower paying Inactive benefits, and I filed an appeal with the Retirement Board submitting the player’s Social Security file and explaining their decision. Essentially, the player’s past work was at the light exertion level (generally requires the ability to stand and walk at least six hours in an eight hour day) and they found that he was limited to sedentary work because of his orthopedic impairments (knees and back). Because he was over 50 years old and his past work did not provide any transferable skills to sedentary work, he is deemed disabled under their rules.
Our good friend and player advocate, disability attorney John Hogan, was able to attend that Symposium held at the Baltimore School of Law on Thursday. Here are his notes from that day:
Disability Attorney John Hogan has gone above and beyond in his efforts to help the retired disabled players. John has recently helped several players with their re-applications under this year’s disability plan. (You can read more about John by visiting his website by clicking HERE.) In case anyone doesn’t understand fiduciary responsibility and the legal and moral responsibility it carries with it:
Dave Pear was born in Vancouver, Washington and grew up in Portland, Oregon. Dave attended the University of Washington on an athletic scholarship and played defensive tackle for the 
Attorney John Hogan is a well-known speaker on Social Security disability and frequently makes presentations throughout Georgia and nationally. He serves on the board of directors of the National Organization of Social Security Representatives and is a former co-chair of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Social Security section. You’ve seen John’s posts and comments frequently on Dave’s Blog and many others as a proactive advocate for retired football players.
We haven’t been posting as much the past couple of weeks (Thanks for picking up the slack, Evan!) because we’ve been getting things ready for our upcoming Conference later this month at The South Point in Las Vegas. If you haven’t signed up yet, time’s running out to book your trip.
