Dave Pear's Blog

Here we go again. Another great take-it-or-leave-it settlement offer from the NFL. Let’s see now. The League has been selling all kinds of film footage of the players for years at incredible profit margins while never paying the retired players anything for the rights. Now that they’ve been busted, they want to settle the deal by offering a token amount that’s only going into funds that will cover things like long-term insurance which should have been provided to the older players as part of their retirement package in the first place. No money for retirees but lots for the owners. And then they want to make the cost of appeal and opting out of the class fall on the shoulders of all retired players. And the hearing is set  for arguments later this week after they just filed the Settlement proposal. Is that how you readers also see this 164-page deal? No one gets to read the deal until it gets put in front of the court for arguments and acceptance? Still looks like lipstick on a pig. And, of course, the lawyers get paid up front…
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We uploaded copies court documents (and the NFL’s press release) from Monday’s Dryer vs NFL/NFL Films filings to Scribd for easy viewing on our Blog and to make it available for downloading and printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the lower right corner of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (just hit the ESC key to close):
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We’ll start with the press release:
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And here’s why they think it’s a good idea:
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Short notice of a hearing this coming Friday:
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And they want this deal done like, um… yesterday. And here’s why:
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The Proposed Final Settlement offer:
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Our Third Annual Independent Football Vets Conference is set for May 3 – 5 at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas! When you book your Conference weekend, please follow these steps:
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1. Book your room using the South Point Reservation link (click HERE) or by calling them Toll Free at (866) 791-7626 and use Group Discount Code INDO0502;
2. Book your flight as soon as possible to get the best advance ticket rates;
3. Then sign in with that information on our Registration Page (click HERE) so we can have your admission badges ready when you arrive (all retired players and families, panelists and invited media are welcome but you will need an admission badge to be admitted to all events).

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Like the old saying goes, “Charity Begins at Home.” Americans are among the most generous people in the world. Recently, a list was published that actually listed some of the top nonprofits in America and the compensation that their respective CEO’s collected for leading those organizations. It was an eye-opener to see that the CEO’s of certain so-called nonprofits were paid in the millions annually, while others only collected token salaries more in line with their charitable missions. For example, the former head of the Boy Scouts of America was paid over $1 million while the COO of the American Cancer Society almost made $1 million last year. In contrast, the head of the Salvation Army took home a relatively paltry $130,000.
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Here’s a snapshot from Charity Watch showing some of their Top 25 Nonprofit CEO Salaries:
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The top salary on this list from 2012 was $2 million+ to Peter Cordeiro who heads the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. You can view the rest of the chart by clicking HERE.
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And how much closer to home than Roger Goodell and the NFL? It’s only becoming more widely known that the NFL operates as a 501 (c) 6 nonprofit, with all the special benefits that a nonprofit enjoys. And keep in mind that many years ago, they also received an antitrust exemption from Congress.
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Our friend Patrick Hruby has been busy of late. Patrick spent some one-on-one time with George Visger a few weeks ago to pull together one of the most detailed stories of George’s life in the NFL and after the NFL. During the NFL’s (and the NFLPA’s) PR run to this year’s Super Bowl, we’ve done our best to show the other side of football: The REAL side of what happens to many of their older players of the past. George has been one of the best examples of everything that the League and the Union can do to a retired player after he leaves the game damaged. While the League can toss aside a lot of other players more easily, George has a lot going for AND against him: He played in Super Bowl XVI for the winning San Francisco 49ers (he only got the ring to show for it) and left the season with severe brain injuries as a direct (and documented) result of playing for the NFL. He qualified for California Workers Compensation (in fact, George was probably one of the first and more prominent football cases back in the early 80′s) even though they fought him for several years before he finally won his case. But once again on the NFL side – even though George proved his case to Workers Comp and recently to Social Security Disability – George will still never receive one penny of direct disability or pension benefits from the League because according to their ridiculous rules, he didn’t play long enough. As a pre-1993 retired player, George had to have played for four seasons to be fully vested (post-1993 players “only” need to have three seasons to be vested for benefits).
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And on and on it goes. For better and for worse. continue reading »

First of all, best of luck to Deion Sanders, who is such a brilliant genius that he doesn’t expect any cognitive problems in his future. Good luck with the child support, hope you don’t tell your next wife about the divorce in a text message – all the best in your stellar career and perfect NFL life.
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Deion Sanders doubts NFL’s concussion problem, says former players are looking for payday

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The NFL released its Official Sideline Concussion Assessment Test last year. After looking at this test, how many of you retired players out there might realize that you probably went off the charts with some of those hits you sustained years ago?
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We uploaded a copy of this Concussion Assessment to Scribd for easy viewing on our Blog and to make it available for downloading and printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the lower right corner of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (just hit the ESC key to close):
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NFL Sideline Concussion Assessment Test

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Well, the NFL and the NFLPA and everyone else in between are spinning out a lot of press before Super Bowl weekend so we may as well also post up a couple of new videos to keep things balanced.
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Bob Costas had Dr. Daniel Amen as a guest on his Costas Tonight Super Bowl Edition Thursday night. Dr. Amen talked about his clinical brain study of 135 retired football studies and what he learned about the long-term effects of brain injuries. (Dr. Amen’s segment starts at the 44-minute mark.) Bob Costas notes that they also invited the NFL to send in one of their experts but got no response. (You can read our post about the Amen Study from 2010 by clicking HERE.) This episode also featured several retired players including Tony Dorsett and Rodney Harrison, all discussing their own experiences and fears about concussions. And the tide keeps turning…
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Posted with the express consent of Irv Muchnick from his blog Concussion Inc.:
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Harvard Hits the Concussion Inc. Jackpot: 10 Years, $100 Million From NFL Players for a Tiny and Misrepresented Study Glossing Over Brain Trauma

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Lots of news this week on concussions, disability and everything in between. Let’s start off with more about the debate on the future of football. (We wonder if many of these current players trash talking the long-term effects of concussions today may be the first guys in line looking for help when it’s their turn.) Here’s a video clip from ESPN:
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The late Junior Seau’s family has filed suit against not only the NFL and Riddell but have also included NFL Films for their glorifying and perpetuating the greatest hits in games over the years. (Read that story by clicking HERE.)
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Oral arguments on the consolidated concussion lawsuits are scheduled to begin in front of Judge Anita Brody in Philadelphia on April 9th. (Click HERE for the short announcement on ESPN.)
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And the NFLPA wasn’t about to be outdone by the NFL in the PR run up to the Super Bowl. Last year, the NFL made a $30 million grant to the NIH (National Institutes of Health) to study brain concussions in NFL players – specifically starting with Junior Seau. Earlier this month, they ended up with confirmation that – yes indeed – Junior had CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) instantly resulting in a lawsuit filed on behalf of his family against the League. Then earlier this week, the NFLPA disclosed in their tax returns that they LOST $36 million last year as a result of that lockout before the new CBA was finally signed (as covered by Daniel Kaplan‘s coverage in Sporting News - click HERE). Never mind that $36 million loss though. For their Pre-Super Bowl PR, the NFLPA just announced they’re funding a $100 million study with Harvard University:
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NFL players, Harvard team for $100 million health study

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Seriously. Most of our readers have no idea about some of the stuff that comes through to us while running this blog. For those of you who post comments, you’ll know that all comments are held for moderation in order to filter out spam (we get lots of them after spammers realized how much traffic we get), bad language and just plain dumb comments. Once in a while (although not much these days, we’ll get a weird one from some strange source or another (remember these two posts from back in 2008 HERE and HERE).
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Anyway, after posting the piece on the new OSHA study summary on long-term problems from brain injuries pose for football players, we found this strange comment awaiting approval (as always, click on thumbnails to enlarge for easier viewing):
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This is one of the best chronologies of the NFL’s history of denial on the long-term effects of brain injuries and concussions. While it only starts with 1992 following the death of Mike Webster, we’re hoping that The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates will research and develop an earlier timeline to show just how far back this coverup actually goes.
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Now this is a what a safety warning should look like. Larry Kaminski just received this letter and study summary from the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety*, the federal research agency that works with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), the Dept. of Health and the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). BTW – OSHA is is the main federal agency charged with the enforcement of worker safety and health legislation. This new information is a warning about the long-term effects from brain injuries that they have observed in a disproportionately higher number of football players when compared to the general population. Dementia, Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS) and Alzheimers are cited in their study. With concussion lawsuits literally taking over much of the media coverage on football even with the run up to Super Bowl, we wonder how many more studies and how much more money the NFL is going to keep throwing at this? (Be sure to fill in their survey and mail it in after you’ve finished reading their summary.)
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Once again, we’ve uploaded a copy of this NIOSH packet to Scribd for easy viewing on our Blog and to make it available for downloading and printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the lower right corner of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (just hit the ESC key to close):
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NIOSH NFL Brain Injury Study

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Well, you know it’s definitely Super Bowl time when the NFL keeps trying to roll out as many new PR programs as they can leading up to the big game. And by now, most of you retired players have received the fancy new announcement for the NFL’s Training for Life program. A very expensive-looking package with a personal invitation from Troy Vincent (wonder how much they spent on that?). We thought there were Super Bowl tickets enclosed so Dave could go to that Free Health Screening Program they announced last week. Here’s that fancy envelope and a personal note from Troy Vincent! Click on the thumbnails to enlarge for your entertainment pleasure!
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Retired Bronco Larry Kaminski didn’t waste any time – or mince any words – in sending a response to Troy Vincent back at the NFL’s Player Engagement Dept.:
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We just received a copy of the NFL Neuro-Cognitive Benefit application form. Attorney John Hogan had discussed some of the issues and problems with this plan at our 2012 Independent Football Players Conference last April (we’ve attached his video to the bottom of this post). John’s early observations on the new Plan and programs are in the first half of his discussion.
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NOTE: Be sure to look at Pages 2, 4 and 5 in this application. Here’s a clip from Page 2 (click to enlarge for easier viewing):
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You can read our earlier post that includes an outline of the new Plan by clicking HERE.

And a fresh observation from disability attorney John Hogan:
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I now have an additional comment or two: If you seek the counsel of an attorney regarding  this and he or she thinks you fully understand it, and they recommend you sign it, please send me their name and address so I might look into a legal malpractice claim! Assuming a guy might be eligible for this benefit, I would want the medical opinion of a Board-certified mental health professional indicating that the guy understands it! If you don’t seek the opinion of an attorney, and sign it, and qualify for the benefit because you have a significant cognitive impairment, I would think you could later assert that you did not have the required mental capacity to knowingly and intelligently waiving your right to sue for other benefits.
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Also, will the examination they send you to evaluate whether they think you understand the waiver of rights?  (Another possible malpractice action – or even a crime: A  doctor giving legal advice or a lawyer giving medical advice?) This is all rather incredible to me.
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We uploaded a copy of this Application to Scribd for easy viewing on our Blog and to make it available for downloading and printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the lower right corner of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (just hit the ESC key to close):
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We uploaded a 78-page copy of this recent Wrongful Termination to Scribd for easy viewing on our Blog and to make it available for downloading and printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the lower right corner of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (just hit the ESC key to close):

Jon T. King vs Hausfeld LLP

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