We’re sorry but we just couldn’t help it. Comparing recent news involving two big-name coaches like John Madden and Joe Paterno Last week, John Madden came forward like the great leader he is and declared that they would now be taking players out of the game when they get concussed. In the Electronic Arts video game that bears his name. Nice. Is that much different than the Wall of Silence that we’ve seen from coach Joe Paterno surrounding the juggernaut of charges still mounting against his BFF Jerry Sandusky that include child sex abuse and rape? Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, both of them continue to believe in the sanctity of football to protect those at the top from any accountability. It’s this arrogant air that finds the rest of us scratching our heads wondering what planet these people are living on. .continue reading »
Dennis Smith posted a comment late Saturday afternoon that his second GLA settlement check had just arrived. So I knew my check wouldn’t be too far behind, seeing as Dennis lives down in L.A.! And sure enough, when I went to my PO Box today, there it was!
Whew! It looks like the end is finally in sight. This past Tuesday, Oct. 12th, Judge Alsup signed the official order to release the remaining proceeds from the GLA Players Inc. lawsuit, along with an amended order allowing McKool Smith to be reimbursed for their inadvertent partial payment of a Garden City Group invoice. Here’s a little shocker from the final order: 76 of the 200+ missing players were actually located using Social Security information and forms were sent to them to fill out and return in the court-ordered 4-week window. But only 32 of those players managed to return their paperwork before the deadline while three other “missing” players contacted the class attorneys on their own in the meantime. So they’ll also be included in the final disbursement. And two widows of players who passed away while all of this was going on will also be included in the final payout.
A very quiet news announcement hit the wires this past week that could have major repercussions for active players in upcoming contract negotiations. First, here’s the headline and a clip from the original release on Reuters:
A couple of recent articles caught our attention today, one of them discussing the Madden Curse – what happens when you find yourself featured on the cover of the latest edition of Electronic Arts Madden Football:
Would you trust your brain or your money with this man?
We have no idea how anyone missed this little tidbit from the Congressional hearings on brain concussions in the NFL. The media rightfully focused on stirring comments made by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ owner Gay Culverhouse regarding the complete lack of advocacy for the players when it comes to brain injuries: The team doctors are hired by the owners and are employed to protect their investment; many of the coaches and owners often play golf with the team doctors in their free time. Tampa Bay Online covered Ms. Culverhouse’s testimony closely and the last paragraph in their story says a lot about just how seriously Roger Goodell plans on looking into brain concussions.
I would urge every retired football player to write Judge Alsup whether you are on the (thus far) confirmed Katz/Adderley Kessler/Berthelson list of 2062 or not; there is proof of over 3,000 but it’s up to Judge Alsup to demand it as part of perjured testimony.
Chalk up another one for the old guys! Retired players are so sick and tired of getting ripped off every time they turn around. We recently came across an article that Electronic Arts was partnering with The Weather Channel to pay them for weather statistics to make Madden Football X more “realistic” – but they DON’T want to pay the retired football players themselves for their stats in order to make the game more “realistic”. I wonder when they’re planning on screwing around with the weather so they won’t have to pay for that either. Read all about the weather by clicking HERE.
So when you use the retired players’ likenesses right down to their race, size and stats, is that realistic enough for you, EA? But you don’t want to pay for that and you want to pay for the weather? Recently, EA announced that they were no longer going to be using retired players in their video games. Ha!
Maybe we should be thanking DeMaurice Smith. After all, he signed the 2008 LM-2 even though he didn’t step into office until this Spring. Some of these items seem to be listed out in more detail than last year and there are other details that weren’t disclosed in the 2007 LM-2. continue reading »
4/17/2009 Subject: Madden not paying retired players while collecting over $100 million in royalties off the retired players’ backs – Did Madden scramble your identity to keep from paying you?
The retired NFL players who were used in Madden EA video games will be suing Madden and EA for using us in those games without compensating us. Madden’s agent Sandy Montag boasts he and Madden collected over $100,000,000 in royalties while paying the retired NFL players used in those games absolutelynothing. Madden knows that the ugly truthful litigation is coming and is probably factoring that into his retirement. I doubt he wants to answer all those fans who will be asking, “Why, John Madden? Why did you screw all those retired players over, you seemed like such a friendly, good-natured buffoon?”
HBO Real Sports ran its Disunity episode on the retired players GLA trial last night. In under 15 minutes, they managed to present the major highlights of the entire 3-week trial, covering the points and counterpoints between the retired players and the NFLPA/Players Inc. and how the trial was won.
Joe DeLamielleure, Bruce Laird and Herb Adderley on HBO Real Sports
We’ve pretty much come to expect that nothing the NFLPA or the NFL does is ever straightforward or easy.
Another prime example popped up a couple of weeks ago when we first announced that the jury had ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the NFLPA/Players Inc. lawsuit in San Francisco. Several people posted positive comments about this incredible effort by Herb Adderley, Bernie Parrish and Walter Roberts on behalf of thousands of retired players. Sadly, when the final revised list of players who were included in the suit was made public, many players came to realize that they had been completely left out. Again. Some of them may not have even received a GLA for their signatures; others may simply have been left off in error or even intentionally not contacted by the NFLPA/Players Inc.
We don’t know how many of you remember the kids’ series of books, “Where’s Waldo?“. But we’re sure it’s Where’s John Madden? time now. (We had a clip on the blog just before the trial started. Click HERE to read it.)
This is just coming in right now on the class lawsuit by Bernie Parrish, Herb Adderley, Walter Roberts and a cast of thousands against the NFLPA/Players Inc. in San Francisco. It looks like the jury has come back in favor of the plaintiffs! More as news breaks…
In short, WE WON!!! On both counts of Breach of Contract, Breach of Fiduciary Duty and the jury is now charged with considering punitive damages.
We’re sorry but we just couldn’t help it. Comparing recent news involving two big-name coaches like John Madden and Joe Paterno Last week, John Madden came forward like the great leader he is and declared that they would now be taking players out of the game when they get concussed. In the Electronic Arts video game that bears his name. Nice. Is that much different than the Wall of Silence that we’ve seen from coach Joe Paterno surrounding the juggernaut of charges still mounting against his BFF Jerry Sandusky that include child sex abuse and rape? Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, both of them continue to believe in the sanctity of football to protect those at the top from any accountability. It’s this arrogant air that finds the rest of us scratching our heads wondering what planet these people are living on.
Dennis Smith posted a comment late Saturday afternoon that his second GLA settlement check had just arrived. So I knew my check wouldn’t be too far behind, seeing as Dennis lives down in L.A.! And sure enough, when I went to my PO Box 
