Dave Pear's Blog

NFLPA 2012 Florida Convention

The NFLPA just announced their 2012 convention to be held once again at the Marco Island Marriott in Florida next March. Retired players are also invited to actually mingle with active players for $250 a night! Lots of golf, fine dining and everything else… except talking about the real issues that retired players actually need to have addressed.
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So with all the lawyers that work over at the NFLPA, it seems that the only thing that gets their attention is another good lawsuit. Today, the attorneys in the earlier Eller suit – Hausfeld LLP, Zelle Hofmann, Arthur N. Bailey & Associates, Coburn & Greenbaum – filed another class action suit on behalf of retired players against the NFLPA, DeMaurice Smith, Tom Brady and Mike Vrabel. The new suit includes a new list of players – Dave is included as one of the named plaintiffs – along with an additional list of key issues that the PA will need to address.
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We’ve uploaded a copy of the new 44-page Lawsuit to Scribd for easy viewing and to make it downloadable for printing. You can also click the Enlarge icon in the center of the menu at the bottom of the viewing screen to go Full Screen for easier reading (and just hit the ESC key to close):
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Gault McElhenney Brown Et Al v NFLPA
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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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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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Clarification on the 1993 CBA and the Commencement of Revenue Sharing

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As most of you now know, Bernie Parrish played a key role in the successful players’ litigation against the NFLPA and Players Inc. in San Francisco. Around the same time, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced what appeared to be a groundbreaking tour to NFL host cities to hear about what the retired players truly want to see happen for them. Unfortunately, as we soon discovered, it’s been nothing more than a transparent PR scam to generate the illusion that they’re actually doing something. While Goodell shows up dragging along his personal entourage that includes the like of Harold Henderson (general counsel) and the NFL PR flaks, the players themselves are told that they can’t bring anyone to the meetings. No counsel, no doctors, not even caregivers or spouses. So disability experts like John Hogan were not even allowed to attend that first meeting in Dallas (he was uninvited by the likes of Harold Henderson AFTER he was invited and flew there at his own expense). (Click HERE and HERE and HERE to read about that first meeting and the fallout after.) And it goes on. The second meeting in Chicago was even worse; it was announced with short notice, few retired players showed up and their stories were all the same. And oh yes – no one was allowed into the “meeting” except retired players.

Now there’s another meeting scheduled for Baltimore on December 11th at 6:30 at the Doubletree Hotel. And yep – absolutely no one allowed to attend except retired players. So if you’re a retired player – dead or alive – you’re invited to show up and speak your mind!

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Like John, I also want to thank Tim Brown for helping to open up this dialog so everyone can discuss their opinions and ideas after the recent passing of Gene Upshaw. Hopefully, we can now look at things as a clean slate that each and every one of us can write on.

I can understand how you might perceive that the retired players are disrespecting the active players. And in a few cases you may be right. However, I would hope that you can understand their frustrations in watching young, untested rookies walk away with multimillion dollar contracts today after they broke their bodies for what certainly seems like pocket change these days to even the lowest-paid players.

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We’re posting the entire press release from Mike Ditka’s GridIron Greats that was put out to general release this morning. Gridiron Greats, in conjunction with OAA Orthopedic Specialists of Allentown, PA, have put together a new medical assistance program for retired, injured NFL players. Several players have already been flown in for evaluation and care through the assistance program which has been open for approximately two months already. And unlike the NFLPA’s so-called joint-replacement program that only covers hips, shoulders and knees, this program isn’t selective. What NFL player DOESN’T have neck and back problems? And concussions? (Read Tony Davis’ earlier comments about the NFLPA’s program by clicking HERE.)

Even more amazing is the fact that 50 players have already been flown in for this program and you have to wonder if the NFLPA’s current program – which is about to close at the end of July – has even seen 50 applications, let alone approved 50 players for benefits? And we wonder how Upshaw and the NFLPA are going to malign Mike Ditka and Gridiron Greats this time for doing something that they themselves should have done years ago.

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From Mercury Morris: (The Seattle Times Sunday Magazine – page 24 2nd and 3rd paragraph) February 3, 2008 Super Bowl Sunday.

“The NFL and the union are no longer adversaries but instead complicit.” When the owners gave the players the power over the money, that took the responsibility away from the owners and put it on the players.

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