Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) is holding the second Judiciary Committee Hearing on concussions at the Wayne State School of Medicine Conference Center in Detroit Michigan on Monday Jan. 4, 2010 at 1:00 pm EST. This hearing appears to be much more wide-ranging and the scheduled testimony includes independent doctors and even World Super Welterweight boxing champ Thomas “Hitman” Hearns is testifying, along with Rev. Al Sharpton. Bernie Parrish, Hall of Famer Lem Barney, Kyle Turley and George Martin are the retired players slated to testify this time.
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WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The NFL will be attempting to show that they’re “embracing” the importance of recognizing concussions by embracing long-term studies such as those being conducted by the likes of The Sports Legacy Institute and Dr. Bennett Omalu. Why? Because they’re long-term and results will be slow in coming (Think about it this way: the studies depend on retired players donating their brains AFTER they die …many years later). They have nothing to lose by appearing to support these types of studies in the present time.
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Posted by
RobertinSeattle |
Categories:
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Al Sharpton,
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David Klossner,
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Vincent Ferrara |
We were hoping that the staggering traffic jam from George Martin’s new NEW NFL Alumni Association’s Recruiting Dinner on Saturday night would have generated loads of press coverage on Monday (our earlier post on the event click HERE). But so far, nothing in the New York Times, the New York Post or CNN or FOX. And there’s absolutely nothing on the Alumni’s own site at all. In fact, when you go to their new NEW website – NFLAlumniAssociation.com, based on George Martin’s new NEW e-mail address – it still isn’t even up yet. (Click on screen shots to enlarge.)
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No News?
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We’ve been informed that invitations have been sent out to members of the NFL Alumni for Gene – er, George – Martin’s coming-out party for The new, NEW NFL Alumni Association. Apparently, advance RSVP’s had to be called in by Nov. 11th for the first 180 people attending as they’re expecting an overflow attendance and parking is limited at Giants’ Stadium (?!!) to the first 180 to sign up. We thought the stadium could handle 78,000+ fans… Click on the brochure pages below to enlarge for reading (our highlights added).
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But just like Roger Goodell’s meetings, no spouses or partners OR caregivers will be allowed in. Only NFL Alumni will be permitted. And you’ll have to bring Photo ID so they can be sure you’re not a party-crasher. We’re not even sure if Associate members – like fans – will be allowed to attend. So how do they expect 180 people to show up? Didn’t Roger already have a problem with Eleanor Perfetto trying to get into one of his Q&A meetings late last year? (Read about the Commissioner’s Love Fest by clicking HERE.)
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Valerie Thomas
NFL Players are hired to be fired. When they enter the NFL they’re healthy enough to pass a physical but after performing for their employers and sustaining injuries, they become unhealthy, unable to pass physicals and are eventually cut, fired or forced to retire.
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Each season, there are more than 50 Active players on each of 32 NFL teams (a total of 1600 players) with approximately 704 starting lineup players per week (22 players – offense and defense). Each week, during the NFL season, more than one player will leave the field due to a severe injury. Fans are usually not aware of the seriousness of players’ injuries until the following week’s pre-game hype. The media reports probabilities about participation and make predictions about winning teams.
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First of all, we want to congratulate George Martin for his appointment as the Executive Director of the NFL Alumni Association; George was selected from a broad range of talented candidates with hats in the ring. George steps into this newly-created, salaried position at the Alumni. The choice was appropriate and George Martin is well-liked.
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Today’s official NFL press announcement from the Associated Press also included the following warm-and-fuzzy-aw-shucks clip on retired players (really, who actually sits down and writes this crap?):
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The owners also met with George Martin, who has been hired by the NFL Alumni Association, a group that plans to be the lone voice for retired players. Those players have had their representation fragmented by many groups, and Goodell believes working with one organization will be a positive development.
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RobertinSeattle |
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Sarasota Herald-Tribune |
Here we go again. After the latest rounds of making it clear that I continue to support the need for independence, several retired players have been calling and writing to inform me that my name is once again being used to imply support for the Fourth & Goal/Alumni Alliance. At least now I can understand some of the confusion: many of you guys must have been wondering why I would be publicly stating my decision not to join the NFL Alumni organization when it appeared that I had been endorsing it.
Apparently, Fourth & Goal sent out a letter at the beginning of June (right after The Summit) to an unknown number of retired players to enlist their support of the new Alumni deal. It appears that not everyone got this letter since I know that a large number of us who attended the Summit never received it (so much for including ALL retired players, fellas). Also included with the 2-page letter were 5 pages from a “Confidential Business Plan” that caught my attention. The two most interesting pages are attached below (click on each page to enlarge for easier reading.) Important sections are highlighted and worth reading carefully. Both Marvin Cobb and I are listed as “Key members of the New Alumni Advocacy Group” along with other members of the current Board of Fourth & Goal.
Now we know. So for the record, let me state it once again in no uncertain terms: I AM NOT ENDORSING OR JOINING THE FOURTH & GOAL/NFL ALUMNI ORGANIZATION. It’s a free country and everyone is entitled to do whatever they want so I’m not telling anyone else what to do. I’m just personally disappointed to discover this ongoing tactic to make things appear to be more than they really are.
Most of you know from previous posts and comments that I – along with most attendees from the Summit – had elected to remain impartially independent at this time so we can be free to evaluate opportunities and changes as they come up.
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Roger the Hutt and Princess Jane
Last Friday, we posted a short piece on what has been the typical divide-and-conquer approach to keeping the retired and active players divided (read that last post HERE), especially now that the NFLPA has a new Executive Director who seems to be intent on changing the status quo. And with the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) looming overhead, things must be getting interesting in the NFL war room. Some people may have had an “Oh crap!” moment last Friday after a letter from Commissioner Goodell was dumped into the US Postal System just before we put up that Roger the Hutt piece. The letter was sent to a mailing list of retired players and has already been arriving at East Coast addresses earlier this week. Read the letter for yourself to understand the owners’ generosity in continuing to fund the “Independence” of the NFL Alumni (click on the images to enlarge for reading). The Commissioner also included a flyer so you can see some of the other fine programs they’re rolled out to help you.
So this is what Commissioner Goodell learned from his fact-finding road trip? More on Dave’s encounter with the NFL Player Care Foundation in an upcoming post!
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Jeff Nixon
Dear Alumni:
In 2002 CBA extension the NFL Players Union gave a really nice perk to active players called the “Performance-Based Pay” system that rewards lower-salaried players for playing time.
For the 2007 season, the fund totaled $100.8 million ($3.15 million per club). Keep in mind that all of this money comes out of the “CAP”…Money that could be used to help retired players.
That’s more than the entire annual payout of $66,106,772 to retired players currently receiving pensions! (based on 2007 NFLPA/NFL annual report).
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Dear NFL Alumni:
Gene recently made the following statement regarding the number 2 position (Assistant Executive Director) at the NFLPA.
“There is only a No. 1 and there will not be a No. 2,” Upshaw wrote. “Number 2 is always trying to become No.1 and never wants to wait. They can always do it better, they are like backup [quarterbacks]. There is a reason they are backups.”
I hate to break it to Gene, but the reason you have a backup Quarterback is that sometimes the starter is playing so poorly you need to change Quarterbacks. That’s a decision for the Coaching Staff (the NFLPA Executive Committee) and all NFL Players.
The problem with Gene is that he doesn’t even want a backup Quarterback on the roster! He’s basically telling the Coaching Staff that he is the only one that will quarterback the team.
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Our friend, John Hogan, Disability Attorney, dropped us some comments about the NFL Alumni and sends answers to Dave about disability questions:
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Hi Dave,
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Hope you had a good weekend. I will try to answer some of the questions you posed:
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In our previous post about Jon Roehlk’s Dire Need assistance from the NFL Alumni, we were hoping to find out more about how and why he was qualified to receive financial aid. We’ve received some more information about Jon’s background and his unusual history with the NFL and the AFL. As we also said, we hold no animosity or personal grudge towards him and his family. We understand Jon’s a nice guy according to people who have talked with him, so all our best to Jon. That said, here’s the story so far (and I’m actually quoting much of it from one source so we can be fair) and some additional commentary after this:
In response to your question about who is Jon Roehlk: He has been a truck driver in Davenport, Iowa for 6 years, making $XXXXX a year. He got married this year for the first time and has a son who was recently born. He – like many Americans – is currently uninsured.
As to how he qualified, aside from his three games with Chicago in 1987, he said (he) spent approximately seven weeks on injured reserve with Pittsburgh in 1985. He said he injured his ankle in training camp and was released around Week 7 of the season. Under the labor rules, that counts as a credited season. He originally went to training camp with Detroit in 1984 and also was in Philly’s camp in 1986. As you noted, he was a scab in 1987 with Chicago. He was among approximately 20 AFL players that the Bears signed to get through the
games.
While this isn’t the classic way in which guys get credited seasons – and I’m sure the fact that he’s a scab will rankle plenty of other retirees – he does qualify. That’s according to him. I haven’t done any further checking about his time with the Steelers because it is the weekend.
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