Dave Pear's Blog

Like George Visger, Brent Boyd recently had another near-miss with concussion-related issues over this past weekend. Many of you may have been wondering why you haven’t heard much from Brent recently. He’s had not one – but five! – close brushes with death since knee surgery in 2006. Brent is now quietly recovering at home from his latest close call. And still no full disability benefits for Brent from the NFL! We finally heard from him this morning:

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In the past few years, I’ve been on the CRITICAL list  FOUR DIFFERENT TIMES – a lung embolism, loss of blood pressure near death 50-60′s/30-40′s), massive total kidney failure and a twisted colon (colonic volvulus). It’s extremely life-threatening as your colon knots up and expands like a bubble in that spot, thinning the colon. Even the slightest tap could burst the bubble and then your abdominal cavity is flooded with feces and toxins and you’re instantly dead from Pepsis. These were four different ‘critical conditions’ four days in a row for four different reasons! “Fortunately,” all this happened while I was in the hospital — I was fine for 3 days following a knee replacement back in 2006 when I suddenly stopped breathing, starting this chain of events.

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The doctors said they screwed up because the drugs they were giving me were not working DUE TO ORGANIC BRAIN DAMAGE!  Do you know how angry I was to hear that — to know the stress on my wife, my Mom and my son on each of the four days they were told to prepare themselves as I could die from the condition of the day?

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(The Official NFL Concussion Poster is on the left and on the right, what it might have looked like when Dr. No was still chair of the “Mild” Traumatic Brain Injury Committee. Click on the posters to enlarge for viewing and printing.)

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This past year, we’ve seen some interesting changes as they relate to concussions and brain injuries. With the Congressional Committee going for the jugular on the seriousness of brain injuries as well as some hard-hitting media coverage from sports journalists like Alan Schwarz of the New York Times, we have to agree that there’s been serious movement in terms of acknowledging the reality of brain injuries. In Washington State, we saw the passage of Zach’s Law (named for Zachery Lystedt, a high school student who was paralyzed when he was sent back into a football game by his coach following a serious concussion). Zach’s Law sets a new standard for evaluation of concussions at the public school level that many other states are now beginning to follow. The NFL saw the departure of the co-chair of their “Mild” Traumatic Brain Injury Committee, Ira “Dr. No” Casson, and then created a new committee now re-named the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee. To their credit, one of the new co-chairs is a well-respected REAL concussion expert, Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, who actually hails from Seattle and was instrumental in helping to draft Zach’s Law.

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Dear Larry -

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I read your letter of July 9th, 2010 to Dave. I have a few questions of my own I’d like to ask. (Read the previous post by clicking HERE.)

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In your response to Dave, you stated, “I am a little confused by your phrase that you “continue”  to seek…”

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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.

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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.

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Dear Roger Goodell,

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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.

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Retiree dispute declared ‘done’

NFL Players Association chief says he has worked hard to address the complaints of former players.

By Charles Chandler

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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 Duty over 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!

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Aaron Hewitt: Dave at Home

Yesterday, I was reading a recent article on Bleacher Report titled Dear NFL: Eight Changes That Need to Be Made Now (click HERE to read their eight changes). It got me thinking again about the real changes that need to be made for retired players:

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Dear  NFL, NFLPA, NFL Retirement board,

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NFLPA Lawyers Door

It seems that the NFLPA was under the rule of lawyers for decades when departed Executive Director Gene Upshaw ran the place. We’ve covered many of the lawyers inside over the past couple of years. And current Executive Director DeMaurice Smith recently alluded to the conflict of interest posed by the Groom Law Group with regard to the players’ pension plans; they wrote the plan and they represented BOTH the NFLPA AND the NFL when it came to defending the plan. (Click HERE to see the Super Bowl announcement.)

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Then you have Jeffrey Kessler who fought against the retired players in the Parrish GLA lawsuit by representing the NFLPA (who’s SUPPOSED to be representing the retired players’ interests – got that?!) and then turns around to represent the Union in the recent American Needle antitrust case in the Supreme Court. You also have CAA superagent Tom Condon who makes the big bucks representing many of the active players in their contracts with the League while also supposedly looking after retired players’ interests by serving for years as one of the 3 NFLPA representatives on the Disability Committee (most applicants get turned down for full benefits). And last but not least, you have NFLPA General Counsel, Richard Berthelsen, who’s been there as long as the wallpaper advising Upshaw over the years.

Gene Berthelsen

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With the lead-up to Super Bowl and daily press conferences filled with posturing on both sides, some real news came out from NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith this afternoon regarding The Groom Law Group – THEY’RE FIRED! After years of being on the inside working both sides of the fence and writing one of the worst disability and pension plans in any industry, someone finally took notice and did what should have been done years ago.

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For years, Bernie Parrish has been pointing out the deep conflicts of interest where The Groom Law Group has placed itself: They worked for the NFL, they worked for the NFLPA AND they wrote the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Players Retirement Plan. We’ve written a lot about this on our blog – including several pieces from Bernie – covering my personal experiences with trying to apply for my disability benefits under Groom Law Group’s ridiculous rules. And my personal experiences are atypical of the way most retired players are treated when they apply for their rightful benefits. Groom Law Group has taken millions from all sides to the detriment of the retired players – they collected nearly $600,000 from the NFLPA alone in 2008 according to the PA’s LM-2 on file. (Look at the Related Posts below this post or just click HERE to see what a search brings up for Groom Law Group on our blog).

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I can only hope that this will be the start of real change in the way retired players are treated and looked upon by its own Union. And perhaps it may not be too much to hope that retired players will finally be given an opportunity to participate and shape their own futures.

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It looks like the latest Congressional hearings into brain concussions in the NFL will be starting this Wednesday, October 28th. From all the preliminary announcements, it appears that only two people have been officially announced to testify: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith. So far, no experts such as neurosurgeons and brain scientists have been announced to testify. We have to wonder who called this hearing on such short notice and why now just as the 2010 lockout is looming and brain concussions have taken center stage in the retired players’ battle for independent representation. With a hat tip to all those other Top 10 Lists out there, we’ve come up with a simple list of the Top 10 Questions that Congress should be asking of Goodell and Smith directly.

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We only wish it could all be sworn testimony…

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I just received the current renewal form for my annual membership in the NFLPA Retired Players. For belonging, most of us retired players actually only receive an annual membership directory and a fancy plastic wallet card claiming how the NFL supports Past – Present – Future (yeah, right!).

Plus we’re allowed to send a $100 check to these crooks! (Click on the documents to enlarge for easier reading.)

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Dave's Post-Op Scar

My lower back 11 days after having 4 screws and other hardware removed as well as having a bone shaved that had been pressing against a nerve causing pain to go down my right leg.

Dave's Extra Parts

• I’ve had 8 spine surgeries (6 lower back and 2 neck);
• I have 3 fused discs in my lower back and 1 fused disc in my neck;
• In 1987, I had knot rods inserted into my lower back but they became loose and I had them removed in 1989;
• I have a bone from the Bone Bank fused into my neck;
• 1 surgery for a total left hip replacement.

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Our good friend and player advocate, disability attorney John Hogan, was able to attend that Symposium held at the Baltimore School of Law on Thursday. Here are his notes from that day:

Notes from

The University of Baltimore School of Law’s
First Annual Sports Law Symposium
From Rookie to Retirement:
The NFL Universe in the New Economy

I was very impressed with the overall program. Law School Dean Phillip J. Closius should be commended for the effort.

It was announced that with the support of the Ravens and Orioles, the Law School will be starting a Sports Law Institute, under the direction of Associate Professor Dionne Koller. So, hopefully it may become a forum to discuss and educate on the issues facing retired NFL players.

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