Dave Pear's Blog

Reprinted in its entirety with permission from Evan Weiner:

Discarded NFL players are often forgotten in retirement

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One of the more common questions coming in from recently retired players (the last 10 – 15 years) has been about severance pay. In our last post, both Lionel James and Burt Grossman mentioned that they weren’t even aware of any severance pay clauses. Irv Cross sent in a response through the Comments and we decided to put it up as a general post so it would be more visible to everyone. Thanks, Irv!

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What we can’t figure out is why players are so uninformed – or misinformed – about their benefits and pay? In my own inquiries about disability and pension benefits, I’ve had the phone hung up on me by people I was sent to at the NFLPA and I even ended up talking to the League’s attorney, Larry Lamade, over at Akin Gump when my own Union couldn’t provide me with a current copy of the retirement plan. And now former Bucs’ President Gay Culverhouse has set up an advocacy program, Players Outreach, to provide some missing guidance through this maze that our paid Union people should have been providing all this time.

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Burt:

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A lot of you out there probably still remember Gay Culverhouse’s passionate testimony in front of Congress last October. (You can read her testimony by clicking HERE.) During the time Gay Culverhouse was President of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, she witnessed firsthand many of the things that teams and team doctors do in treating their employees: the players. Dr. Culverhouse has been taking up the cause for retired players’ rights in their generally next-to-impossible process to apply for disability and pension benefits. After she began to realize the scope of this problem, Dr. Culverhouse recently started a new nonprofit organization – Gay Culverhouse Players’ Outreach Program – to provide assistance to any and all players who either need assistance in applying for their benefits or who have been turned down for benefits. (Click HERE to access their website.)

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If you would like additional information, they’ll be hosting a Gay Culverhouse Players’ Outreach Program meeting on Monday, February 15, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Comfort Inn Conference Center, 820 E. Busch Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33612. Appetizers, soda & beer will be served. For room reservations call 1(800) 288-4011, mention Players Outreach Program, and book by Feb. 12th to receive special pricing.

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December ended up being a crazy busy month for Dave: 2 print interviews and 3 radio interviews so far. Dave’s primary focus has been on getting the word out on disability benefits and pensions, as well as answering some questions on the recent Parrish vs. Players Inc. GLA settlement.

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Jeff Pearlman did a story for Sports Illustrated/CNN on Dave’s personal regrets about having played football. That helped generate over a million hits this month for the blog.
Click HERE to read that article.

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Wayne Coffey from the New York Daily News talked to Dave about the sad story of fellow Buccaneers’ teammate Jimmie Giles:
Click HERE to read that article.

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Sirius FM98′s Hardcore Sports Radio interviewed Dave on Dec. 16th:

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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.

AAA

Culverhouse: NFL doctors aren’t advocates for players

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More keeps coming out on the touchy-feely meetings that Commissioner Goodell has been conducting with the “Alliance” in league cities across the country. The first meeting held in Dallas ended with Disability Attorney being invited – and then uninvited – by John Wooten (read about that HERE) and as revealed in a series of interesting e-mails that followed the meeting (read about that HERE). Then a dull second meeting in Chicago and a more interesting one last week in Baltimore. The spouses of several players with dementia confronted the Commissioner outside of the meeting room about being denied a voice in the process. And then the New York Times backed it up with the revelation that it was the Alliance who decided to close the meetings to everyone except retired players (read about that HERE and HERE).

Behind the scenes, there’s been a flurry of e-mails and phone calls between the retired players and some members of the “Alliance,” discussing and rationalizing the secret decision to keep the meetings closed. And lots and lots of backpedaling and finger-pointing. We’ve got one interesting exchange that came from Alliance member John Wooten trying once again to explain his way out of another ridiculous situation. Tony Davis’ response is first and Wooten’s e-mail follows at the end. Tony is expressing an opinion that the majority of retired players all seem to share. So why weren’t the other players even consulted before the Big Brother Alliance decided for them?

From: Tony Davis
To: John Wooten; Bruce Laird; Dave Pear
Cc: Mike Connelly; Jack Kemp; Merlin Olsen; Jerry Kramer; Daryl Johnston; Harry Carson

To members of the NFL/NFLPA Alliance,

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Dave is probably in the middle of his hip replacement surgery at this moment and I’ll report in on his status a soon as we get word from his wife, Heidi. In the meantime, I was pleasantly surprised to see this post today on the Tampa Bay Bucs Fans’ blog, BucNews.com. Appropriately titled The Destruction of a Legacy, it’s probably as good an analysis as any I’ve seen anywhere on NFLPA Executive Director, Gene Upshaw. They highlight many of Upshaw’s accomplishments as a player and athlete, including his long fall from grace in recent years as the guy in the Ivory Tower who has completely lost his way in forgetting where he came from while leaving behind all the people who helped him get there. I’ve followed an old philosophy throughout my entire business career:

The little people you step on going up the ladder of success are the same people you see on your way down.

Excerpted from their post today:

“Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Gene Upshaw. He was The Raiders’ first round draft pick in 1967 (#17 overall) and started at their left guard spot for 207 straight games. He took part in three Super Bowls, winning two, and was widely considered to be one of the best offensive linemen of the 1970s. The seven-time Pro Bowler was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

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Gary,

You ask a very good question. Only the owners know the answer.

However, we’ll continue our battle without let up until we receive justice. Thanks for the nice compliment and stay in touch.

Dave

On Sat, Mar 1, 2008 at 10:12 PM, gary huff wrote:

Dave,

I just cannot understand why the NFL owners will not simply reallocate the NFL monies in a more equitable manner between retired and current players. They cannot be afraid of the current players. How could the current (players) complain? The benefits we are seeking are the same benefits they will receive when they retire.

PS: I am very proud of the self-control you have shown in your efforts.

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Welcome! This is the first post created for Dave Pear’s Official Blog. Dave devoted his early years to playing football and achieved what most people can only dream about: He made it into the NFL as a respected defensive tackle. After graduating from the University of Washington, Dave was drafted into the NFL to play for the Baltimore Colts in 1975, then went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the expansion draft of 1976. He was the first Buccaneer selected to play in the Pro Bowl in 1978. Dave was subsequently traded to the Oakland Raiders in 1979 and in 1980 played for a winning Super Bowl XV team to earn that coveted ring.

Along the way, Dave’s injuries piled up as he advanced in the league, eventually forcing him to retire in 1981. Since that time, Dave has undergone numerous surgeries to his neck and spine that have essentially left him to a life of constant pain. Through all of this, Dave has still managed to count his blessings by having the unconditional love and support of his loyal wife, Heidi, and their two wonderful children.

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