Dave Pear's Blog

Posted with the express consent of Evan Weiner:

THE BUSINESS AND POLITICS OF SPORTS
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NFL lockout 2011: Why are Gov. Christie and other politicians strangely silent?

Thursday, 21 April 2011
BY EVAN WEINER
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
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The National Football League Draft is on the horizon and there has been a deafening silence from a group of people who actually have some power to exert some influence on what appears to be stagnating talks between the owners, who have locked out their employees — the players — and the players’ representatives.
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People like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who has no problem yelling at his employers in public settings — New Jersey voters — has gone mute on the issue. Christie is no better than Texas Congressman Lamar Smith who doesn’t think Congress ought to be involved in the dispute or President Barack Obama. Christie is in a governor’s league that includes both Democrats (Andrew Cuomo of New York, Jerry Brown of California, Mark Dayton of Minnesota among others) and Republicans (Rick Scott of Florida, John Kasich of Ohio, Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Rick Snyder of Michigan, Rick Perry of Texas, Jan Brewer of Arizona, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana) who should be out there jawboning NFL owners to get a deal done with the players.

All the governors are cutting costs so you figure the potential of losing money because there will be no business conducted because of the lockout would stoke their combative fires.
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But it hasn’t.
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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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After a crazy 2009 (like the rest of us), Conrad Dobler has still managed to hit the media trail and come out swinging before Super Bowl. After 32 surgeries, Conrad nearly lost his leg late last year to a massive MRSA infection. (You can read that earlier post – click HERE.) But Conrad’s back and he’s been lighting into the NFL and the NFLPA in a couple of recent interviews. Conrad comes from old school football when characters were actually welcome. And he played the part well. Ask any older fan and most of them will still speak of Conrad fondly, regardless of whether they loved or hated him on the field. In today’s world of football, The Commissioner is now all too happy to act like the nasty teacher with the ruler trying to keep the students in line for his headmaster owners. All you have to do is look at Chad Ochocinco’s escalating fines to match his on-field antics to bring some levity to the game. Those owners don’t really want the fans to identify with any players on the field (other than those multimillionaire quarterback stars that they completely control) because it  would give them faces off the field and into retirement. Consider this a salute to Conrad Dobler for still being who he is!

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Earlier this year, Disability Attorney John Hogan filed appeals to the Retirement Board of the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Players Retirement Plan on behalf of Dave. Late last week, Dave received a response and it was no surprise that he was once again denied his request to have his Inactive Total & Permanent Disability reclassified to Football Degenerative. It was a perfect example of how an application and appeal process shouldn’t work.

Let’s start first with a re-cap on the major issues: The Plan clearly breached its fiduciary duty in 1995 by not getting input from a vocational specialist (such as Earl Thompson). If they had, Dave’s case likely would have been granted. It’s a violation of the fiduciary duty of care NOT to adjudicate disability claims like others similarly situated would do. Every other disability system typically considers vocational factors. They should have obtained more detailed information from the doctor himself such as how frequent and how long the rest breaks needed to be, the need to lie down, and how many total hours per day.

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Some people think they have to join in the conversation even when they have no idea what they’re talking about. (Or maybe we can chalk it up to reporters looking to stir things up on a slow day.) In today’s press coverage leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, the Saints’ Drew Brees was quoted in USA Today as saying, “There’s some guys out there that have made bad business decisions,” he said.” They took their pensions early because they never went out and got a job. They’ve had a couple divorces and they’re making payments to this place and that place. And that’s why they don’t have money. And they’re coming to us to basically say, ‘Please make up for my bad judgment.’” Read the rest of the piece in USA Today by clicking HERE.

In fact, here’s an interesting question to ponder: What would probably happen if Drew Brees got permanently disabled and had to go in front of the NFLPA Disability Board for a disability benefits review? Would his agent, Tom Condon – who also happens to sit on the Board (!) – still be on his side? Or would he find a way to disqualify him like most everyone else who’s come up in front of the Review Board? Just remember one thing: The people you step on going up the ladder of success may end up being the very people you need help from on the way back down.

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Right on, Jeff!

Mary-ann Fleming
Manager, Player Benefits
National Football League
280 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10017

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Our good friend, Rob Thompson, has finally finished his new book, The Bills are Due, and it’s hot off the presses at last. Here’s the summary from Barnes & Noble’s site:

“Billy Shaw. Joe Ferguson. Fred Smerlas. Before the days of multi-million dollar contracts for unproven players, there were men like these. Men who built one of America’s most storied football franchises without expecting lucrative endorsement deals or $80 autograph fees.

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