Andrew Stewart recently went through an application process for his NFL Total & Permanent Disability Benefits. After playing in the NFL, he went on to play for several more years in the CFL (Canadian Football League). Andrew currently lives in Vancouver BC Canada. .
Sometimes you just have to shake your head and laugh when a situation gets so ridiculous and absolutely everyone else can see it except the very people who should be able to see it. Yesterday, Dr. Ken Stoller submitted the first part of his series on HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy) and how the treatment for George Visger and Wayne Hawkins has been progressing. When you read Part II today, you’ll realize that Dr. Stoller is now also getting a taste of the typical bureaucratic runaround that retired players have been encountering for years.
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So before you read Part II of Dr. Stoller’s series, let’s kick things off with with an old video clip that came to mind about the frustration of dealing with idiots – Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch: .
We were all excited when the NFL finally got rid of Ira “Dr. No” Casson as Co-Chair of the NFL’s “Mild” Traumatic Brain Injury Committee. What surprised us was the selection of Dr. Richard Ellenbogen as co-chair of the newly-named NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee. Dr. Ellenbogen hails from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle as chief of neurological surgery and has been very proactive at the state level in legislation regarding concussions in youth athletics.
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George Visger was the perfect poster-boy for NFL brain concussions to contact Dr. Ellenbogen: Incredibly intelligent, well-spoken and very vocal as a perfect spokesman on the long-term damage from severe brain concussions that resulted directly from his career in professional football. George has been relentlessly involved with a two-pronged approach to the NFL’s concussion problem: The NFL needs to be held to the same standard as any employer in America when it comes to taking care of its injured employees – both active and retired – and clear rules need to be put in place to ensure worker safety both on and off the field. Last month, George proposed a detailed set of rules that address the most important issue facing the NFL, the NFLPA and its employees. The proposed rules were the result of collaboration among a group of retired players who worked with George to develop some guidelines that have been long overdue. We think they make a lot of sense and it covers ALL players with a common sense approach that only players with first-hand experience could develop.
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On a side note before we present the Visger Rules, we had sent a proposal to DeMaurice Smith several months back as the Amen Clinic trials was closing to see if the NFLPA would be interested in funding brain scans for active players BEFORE and AFTER they started their careers, as well as brain scans for all retired players. After seeing the need to continue helping the retired football players, Dr. Amen had graciously offered an incredibly discounted rate for any and all players sent to any of his clinics. Our proposal was simple: ALL active players would have a SPECT scan before starting their careers as well as when they retired; and ALL retired players would be allowed a brain scan as a new benefit. The cost would have been relatively minimal (considering all the money we see wasted every year as disclosed in the annual LM-2 filings) but the impact and effect would be invaluable to each and every player for a lifetime. George’s proposal goes even further: Each active player would also be required to have annual brain scans as an integral part of their mandatory checkup regimen. With the medical technology available today, each player and the Union could easily be provided with up-to-the-minute information on their entire physical condition that’s complete and accurate to help prevent further injuries. We felt that the proposal was the right thing to do and very pro-player (pro-employee – which is what Unions are supposed to be). Given the League’s recent gestures in this direction, the timing couldn’t have been better for the PA to initiate such a plan. After all, what could the League have to say against such a proactive move? This could easily be a high priority issue during any CBA negotiations which is why we felt it was important enough to present the idea directly to DeMaurice Smith. There has been absolutely NO response since the proposal was sent to them in April. We have no idea why this wouldn’t be a perfect issue for the Union (the retired AND active players’ Union) to take up with the League right now to show real unity by protecting all of its men – past and present. As with everything else, it seems we’re all still waiting just for a response…
A couple of months after sending a letter with questions to Mary-Ann Fleming (Director of Disability Benefits for the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Players Retirement Plan) and Larry Lamade (of Akin Gump), I finally received this response from Larry Lamade earlier in the week. You can read my original questions on that earlier post by clicking HERE.
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Here’s the letter(just click on each thumbnail to enlarge for easier reading)and check out the CC: list on Page 2:
Many of you have followed Brent Boyd’s years of fighting with the NFL for his earned disability benefits. Brent has kept us updated on his current appeal to the Disability Board for a new review of his case. Brent now has more medical evidence from recognized clinics like The Amen Clinic to support his case of football-related disability.
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In one recent conversation, Brent used a brilliant analogy:“Imagine if today’s young generations of minorities went back to all those great people who fought for civil rights in the 50′s and 60′s – often with their lives – and told them, ‘Thanks for all you did for us. Oh – and by the way, you guys still have to ride at the back of the bus, use a separate bathroom and drink out of that water fountain over there!’ That’s exactly the way the NFL is treating its retired veterans.”
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Current players get larger contracts with easier pension qualifications while the retired players keep getting sent to the back of the bus. And just as often (as you’re about to see in some of Brent’s documents), they still keep making up the rules against you when things don’t go their way. Brent’s attorneys filed an appeal on his last rejected application and just as it’s coming up for trial, the Disability Board decides they want ANOTHER doctor to examine him AND they secretly reject his claim once again. After three other doctors of their choosing had already ruled in Brent’s favor. And who’s front and center in all of this? The Groom Law Group. The same people who WROTE the plan and are now helping the NFL and the Disability Board continue to re-define the rules to deny him his earned benefits. A few years back, retired players were told that if you had already qualified for Social Security Disability (most people know how difficult it is to qualify for SSI), you would automatically “qualify” for NFL benefits. But then “discretionary” qualifications got added back into the process in side deals made between Gene Upshaw and Harold Henderson.
Mercury Morris has recently been discussing an investigation into the NFL and its handling of the retired players’ disability and pension benefits. Here’s his synopsis of what he’s made available to select members of the media so far:
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I want to tell you about a story I would like to read about Roger Goodell. I only recently discovered that Roger Goodell, while serving under Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, sat as the 7th non-voting member of the Retirement Board. That means Goodell has been aware of all of the disability and retirement misconduct that occurred from the mid 90′s to the present. I recently met with Federal investigators on three occasions to discuss filing charges – both criminal and civil – against the Retirement Board and the Groom Law Group. Goodell has been scamming the public about his “honest effort” in helping the retired players that he’s perpetuated in the media. When we did the story last May about the Retirement Board making up a provision to exclude me from representing other retired players whose benefits had been compromised with the sole intent of saving these multimillionaire owners money, I wasn’t aware that Goodell had put Harold Henderson in that very same seat he had occupied to oversee the obvious corruption at the hands of the Retirement Board. Out of my meeting with the investigators, it was disclosed to me that the Department of Labor has been working with the Retirement Board to cover up disability and retirement pension misconduct from the Bush administration (helping big business) to the Obama administration attempting to cover it up.
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The devastating part of this story is that when they passed this phony exclusion-by-felony rule, the two people I had been representing were basically left to fend for themselves. Dwight Harrison had a son who committed suicide after Dwight’s disability benefits were taken away. His retirement benefit money which amounted to $130,000 was then used to pay the Groom Law Group for attorneys’ fees. Because of this, his family broke up and his son later committed suicide. The Retirement Board, under Goodell now have blood on their hands. Marian Klein, the widow of the late Dick Klein, lost her home because the “across-the-board benefit increase” that was given to everyone else was denied to her. Again, I was closing in on proving that both criminal and civil acts had occurred against a retired player’s widow for no other purpose than to beat her out of $200 a month. Although they could never explain to her why she wasn’t entitled to this benefit that everyone else got, without me there to scrutinize their actions, they basically told her, “We lied about your exclusion, we have no real answer, and you’re still not going to get the benefit.” She too has gone through tough times, caring for her son who is now in the late stages of his battle with cancer. She had to move in with him after losing her home because of these people.
Reality vs. PR Fantasy: Now we know why those fantasy football games and Electronic Arts Madden Football are so profitable: They exist in a fantasy world where the players never get old and they never really get injured. You can make up new rules as you go and the best part of all? You never have to really pay the players. No salaries, no disability benefits, no pensions! And like in the fantasy games – if not for the GLA Class Action lawsuit – most of the real players featured in those fantasy games would never have received any compensation when their fantasy versions and stats were used. The NFL AND the NFLPA both seem to believe that the real world runs in much the same way: Retired players leave the game and they no longer exist. Out of sight, out of mind.
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Dave only recently received a second generous $200 reimbursement check from the NFL’s hip replacement program – over two years after he had that $60,000 surgery! The same program that Roger Goodell publicly told Congress last year is faster, more efficient and better than ever! (Read that earlier post – click HERE.)
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We saved this clip from Roger Goodell’s testimony before Congress in October 2010:
So here we are well into our third year with Dave’s Blog. When Dave first decided to document and present his experiences in dealing with his life after football, we had no idea just how many people wanted to read his story or how many – or how few – other retired players were suffering the same fate.
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Over these past couple of years, we discovered there were a lot of different but similar accounts of all the ways that retired football players have been denied their earned benefits. Just when you thought you’d heard it all, a new one comes along.
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This past weekend, we read a post on the National Football Post about Conrad Dobler’s most recent struggles to survive after 30 surgeries – including 10 knee replacements – all while still looking after his wife, Joy, who has been a quadriplegic since 2001. (Read the article – click HERE.)
Last week, we received a couple of copies of the current Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Players Retirement Plan(released in April 2009) from different sources. After reviewing and comparing them, we’ve confirmed that we have an accurate copy of the plan and we’re posting it here for everyone.
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We’ve uploaded the entire document 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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And just as with that NFLPA 2009 LM-2, if you find any interesting items to point out, please feel free to share them with everyone in the Comments Section.
Thank you for signing the $200.00 reimbursement check for my total left hip replacement of April 29, 2008. Boy, it sure did take a long time but I guess it’s better that nothing. By the way, I’ve had 2 more surgeries since then. On August 11, 2009 I had 4-3½ inch screws along with 4 nuts and 2 bars removed from my spine at L3-4. And on March 4, 2010 I also had a hydrocele repair. I have more out-of-pocket expenses for these surgeries. (Click on the thumbnail to see this big check.)
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My question is, “How is a retired player suppose to pay for ALL the out-of-pocket expenses for major surgery and then hope to get reimbursed?” This is counterintuitive to any insurance benefit I have ever heard of. I certainly know from first-hand experience that Medicare certainly doesn’t work that way! Is this the way YOUR health insurance plan works for you? Most retired players aren’t able to cover out-of-pocket expenses with money they don’t have to pay for their surgeries from playing football in the NFL.
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Once again, the Groom Law Group has the audacity to continue fabricating another crafty document where even the smallest benefit is unreachable for the vast majority of retired players and especially for those who need it the most.
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:
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1. Jimmie Giles. (Jimmie has been open about his battle with the Plan, and has given me permission to discuss his case publicly.) Jimmie was one of the players who, having previously been denied in his attempt to obtain disability, had taken his early NFL retirement but was finally allowed to reapply for disability under the 2008 “window” process. Jimmie had applied for Social Security disability, and was found to be disabled by SSA in Nov. 2004 – which was within the 15-year window to be eligible for the higher-paying football degenerative total and permanent disability benefits. As the Plan was amended to grant NFL disability to those who were granted disability by SSA (Social Security), Jimmie was granted inactive (lower-paying) disability. The Plan provides that they will accept SSA’s decision unless at least four of the six Retirement Board members feel that the SSA decision was obtained by fraud. Also, despite what they told Congress in 2007, the Retirement Board still retained the discretion to send a player found disabled by SSA to see one or more of their doctors if necessary to make an “adequate” decision. [Read: To try to find a reason to deny the claim!] Recently, Jimmie was sent to see an NFL neutral physician and – without ever sending the report to him or me for comments – the Board denied his case once again.
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As Jimmie was found disabled by SSA, and there was no indication of fraud; and since he was found to be disabled within 15 years of his last credited season, it seemed to me that the only possible issue which might be addressed by an NFL physician was whether the disability was football related. However, when I received the neutral physician report – after the denial – it was obvious that the Plan never explained the circumstances of the situation to the doctor but rather just sent their regular request for an examination and opinion. The doctor set forth Jimmie’s various impairments to his spine and knees and expressed the opinion that he was not totally disabled. First, that opinion is irrelevant under the Plan’s acceptance of a Social Security disability award. Second, the doctor never expressed what limitations or work he thought Jimmie might be capable of. (Ignoring the explicit questions of the Plan’s own assessment form.) But most importantly, he stated that Jimmie’s impairments were caused by NFL injuries! That being the case, he should have been granted football degenerative, not denied.
At the beginning of May, I had mailed and posted a series of questions to Mary-Ann Fleming, the NFL’s Director of Player Benefits.(Click HERE to read the original questions I’d submitted.) A week later, I received a short letter from them informing me that she was away on business and then on vacation. Nearly a month after sending out my first letter, I finally received a 3-page response via FedEx. (By the way, what’s the deal with all that? No one gets back to me quickly and when you do, there are no answers to my questions. You take over 2 years to finally decide to send me a second reimbursement check for $202.68 as your share of a $60,000 surgery. Yet you have paid assistants to respond that you’re away on vacation. And everything’s done by FedEx – at our plan’s expense, no less.)
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Here is a copy of Mary-Ann Fleming’s letter. She says that a check for $202.68 should arrive in 3-4 weeks! Let’s see, I submitted these additional out-of-pocket expenses over a year ago (and that was a year after they sent me my first reimbursement check for $517.63 in late December, 2008) and now they finally decide to approve this new check. WOW! Talk about a fast turnaround! (Click on the thumbnails to enlarge for reading.) .
Your statement as recently quoted in The Charlotte Observer,“The rift we had in the past with our former players is over,” said Smith. “It is done.”is simply not true. (You can read the article by clicking HERE.) NOTHING could be further from the truth. Where did you come up with this conjecture?
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Your new appointment of Robert Smith to the disability board to replaceTom Mr. Conflict-of-Interest Condon was another example of the intent of the NFLPA Leadership to continue business as usual (also known as the Upshaw-Way-or-the-Highway). From the statements Smith is already making, he sounds even worse than Condon! (If that’s possible!)
A Message to NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith -
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No More Band-Aids!
You were recently quoted in the media saying, “I’ve seen consistent improvements in pensions and healthcare for our players and former players.” Are you serious?!! Gene Upshaw and the NFLPA Leadership were convicted and found guilty of “Breaching their Fiduciary Duty” and “Breach of Contract” towards retired players in a Federal Court. And certainly the NFLPA and the NFL are also guilty of Breaching their Fiduciary Dutyover disability benefits. The pensions for many retired players amount to not much more than a monthly car lease payment (minus the down payment because their pensions are too small for a real car payment). Upshaw once bragged publicly in the media that under his brutal dictatorship, pensions had increased almost 50% for many of the older retirees. What he failed to mention was that their monthly pensions jumped from a shameful $139 a month to a whopping $179 a month for guys like Herb Adderley. Never mind the fact that many of our men took early pensions based on the myth perpetuated by your plan actuarial numbers done by owners through AON Consulting that stated most of us were going to be dead before the age of 55.
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When will retired players begin to receive restitution? Until that happens, NOTHING will have really changed!
Andrew Stewart recently went through an application process for his NFL Total & Permanent Disability Benefits. After playing in the NFL, he went on to play for several more years in the CFL (Canadian Football League). Andrew currently lives in Vancouver BC Canada.
We were all excited when the NFL finally got rid of Ira “Dr. No” Casson as Co-Chair of the NFL’s “Mild” Traumatic Brain Injury Committee. What surprised us was the selection of Dr. Richard Ellenbogen as co-chair of the newly-named NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee. Dr. Ellenbogen hails from Harborview Medical Center in Seattle as chief of neurological surgery and has been very proactive at the state level in 
Many of you have followed Brent Boyd’s years of fighting with the NFL for his earned disability benefits. Brent has 
