Dave Pear's Blog

More Mr Smith Goes to Washington

Sports analyst, Evan Weiner, wrote a very detailed look at the current NFLPA/NFL situation in the newly-changed post-election landscape in Washington, DC. Should DeMaurice Smith have acted sooner when he had more friends in Congress? Will his efforts now be met with a cold reception with a new House? And why didn’t he take advantage of his friends and allies when he had a bigger advantage earlier?

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Like many of you, Dave has recently received his new membership package from the NFLPA, complete with a slick new “Union Membership” tag/card. This new card re-affirms the NFLPA’s affiliation with the AFL/CIO and the Federation of Professional Athletes. And we also checked into the new Drunk Driver Protection Program with a toll-free number to call to for a limo to avoid getting penalized by Roger Goodell for bad behavior (non-emergency use by retired players is also available – for a measly $85 an hour!). And, of course, the NFL School of Legends logo is there as the new replacement program for that failed Group Licensing Agreement from Gene Upshaw. All these fantastic new programs and the NFLPA still gets absolutely no respect from the retired players. What’s a poor Union to do?

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I was reading a Wall Street Journal article that circulated a couple of weeks ago and really had to take some time to digest it all.

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Golden football but no golden parachute...

Remember Troy Vincent? He was the one player inside the NFLPA who chose to question Gene Upshaw in his final year at the NFLPA. As President of the NFLPA for four years, he actually believed that he could bring up the idea of a succession plan for Gene Upshaw. And it cost him dearly. Although Vincent eventually ended up in the final run for the NFLPA Executive Director position after Upshaw’s untimely departure, his earlier tangles with many in the Upshaw regime left him at a severe disadvantage; DeMaurice Smith was subsequently appointed as the new chief of the NFLPA last year. But Troy was back on his feet once again after being appointed the new VP of Player Development for the NFL earlier this year.

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When it comes to dealing with its senior retired players, it seems that the NFL and the NFLPA have consistently been running on a strategy of doing too little too late. And that’s the only thing they seem to do consistently. First, concussions couldn’t possibly cause any long-term problems. Then, they decided they DO cause long-term damage (but only to active players!), so they fired Dr. No and quickly created all those new rules and fancy posters warning all the current players about the dangers of concussions. Those new rules came all the way down from the Commissioner’s office and – if followed to the letter – would completely change the game of football. Even a lot of the players have come forward to point out how ridiculous and confusing this has become – all in a short span of just a few weeks. Sheesh!

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Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith practically dance in lockstep around all the important issues when it comes to paying retired players’ benefits. They may as well be on Dancing with the Stars! (Thanks for this, John.)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: We received this update late last night from Brent while he’s still up in Boston this weekend undergoing some new MRI tests after the SLI Impact Awards this past Wednesday:

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We understand that this past Wednesday evening, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was given an Impact Award at the Sports Legacy Institute‘s Third Annual Impact Awards held in Boston MA. SLI has been involved with Boston University in the forensic study of the long-term effects of concussions on athletes’ brains. Many players have already pledged their brains to the Institute for study after they die. The award was to “recognize the NFL’s new advocacy and educational programs on youth sports concussions.” Of course, a year earlier, the NFL had donated $1 million to the Sports Legacy Institute Boston University School of Medicine’s Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.

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Aaron Hewitt: Dave at Home

Dear Dr. Benjamin,

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After several serious hits viewed by millions during many games last week, the League is now preparing to make an announcement about suspensions for illegal hits (but of course, they also continue to allude to an 18-game season out of the other side of their mouths). The issue of concussions does not appear to be going away any time soon. That said, the only thing mentioned so far for the older retired players is that the League is now discussing expansion of its Plan 88 coverage with the Union. While it may be a good gesture, we want to point out that Plan 88 is primarily focused on the needs of those players who have already progressed into more advanced – and more obvious stages – of dementia or related brain damage. In other words, you and your families will have to suffer through denials of disability benefits and the devastating costs on your own until you’re finally in a position to “prove” that you’ve been damaged over the years from football.

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We keep re-reading Gordon Wright’s case with its overwhelming evidence that he did indeed qualify for his 1968 season (click HERE to read that earlier post) and how the Disability Board, its directors AND the lawyers are still saying they’ve declared the last word on his case. We can only shake our heads in disbelief and answer with some Monday Morning Humor on how the NFL’s Disability and Pension Benefits Program is stacked up against you.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Gordon Wright played for four seasons: 1967 – 1968 for the Philadelphia Eagles and then 1969 – 1971 for the New York Jets. Like most retired players, Gordon’s been trying to access his full disability and pension benefits for years now and it’s finally reached the courts.

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Gregg Bingham here. I sure love this blog and I read it every time I get notified of a new post. I’m always amazed to read about the carnage left behind after a career in the NFL and I – like most all others (including active players and fans) – had absolutely no idea about any of it. BUT I DO NOW…

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EDITOR’S NOTE: One more valuable voice in the fight for retired football players: Dr. Johnny Benjamin is a well-respected and accomplished orthopedic surgeon with a lot of experience in professional sports. But he’s not a retired player! (As a few people still keep trying to use as an excuse!) So it must be the reason he also doesn’t get any respect or response from anyone inside the NFLPA OR the NFL...

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Many of you have been following our friend, George Visger’s recent brain shunt emergency this past weekend. The good news is that George made a strong recovery from this recent episode and we’re posting more details that have just come in from George below. As gory and complex as some of it may sound, most people generally know little about these procedures which actually happen more frequently than get reported. The Washington Post ran another series recently on brain injuries in sports and provided detailed information and graphics on hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and the shunt surgery that’s used to alleviate the problem.

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