Dave Pear's Blog

Moran vs. NFLPA and NFL Players Inc.

Does the NFLPA think the same way about you?

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In our last post – Valerie Thomas: Life Under Upshaw – former NFLPA Research Analyst and Paralegal Valerie Thomas discussed her years of abuse and violation of her employee’s rights under the heavy hand of departed Executive Director Gene Upshaw and his inner circle. Bob Grant had posted several questions to her in the comments section about the toll from her long battle with the NFLPA and how it has affected her and her family over the years. This is Part 2 of Valerie Thomas’ story.

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Valerie Thomas

Dave,

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Thank you for your earlier comment and for allowing me to be an active participant on your blog.

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It’s hard to accept that a union whose efforts that you supported, including financially, would turn against you in your time of need: your  post-football career.

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I know first-hand what it feels like to be ignored and it is even more dehumanizing to have been ignored while looking in the faces of the perpetrators on a daily basis. For example, my basic needs and rights to have access to my job were denied. When I reported to work, I was locked out with no key to get in the front door and no key to access the elevator. Once on the elevator, I couldn’t get off on the floor where I worked. Instead, I could only get off on the floor below mine and had to walk up a public stairwell. During the mornings, when I had to do business on other floors I had to walk up and down the public stairwells. I could not use the elevator like everyone else, including interns and temporary employees. At lunchtime and upon my return from lunch, I had to go through the same routine with no access to my floor and walk up a public stairwell (two sets of 12 stairs = 24 steps each way). In the afternoons, if I had to do business on other floors, I had to walk up and down the public stairwells. NFLPA management and its legal representatives harassed, intimidated and retaliated against me; they dared me to protect my rights and when I did, they then cheated and stole my livelihood and my family’s legacy.

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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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Over the past 24 hours, we’ve certainly had a lot of discussions around the old adage “Not seeing the forest for the trees.” In the old way of controlling their spin on all stories about football, the NFL managed to keep all of the television networks and most of the major print media on very short leashes because of their broadcast rights and access to players and managers for interviews. And then the Internet came along. Despite claims of a few who proudly proclaim they invented the Internet and Facebook, this new medium has not only moved the retired football players battle to a new and level playing field; it’s in a different league altogether. Just as the past two weeks have completely caught Tiger Woods and his team of old-school PR flacks like deer in the headlights, the NFLPA and the NFL and their old media machines have been hard-pressed to catch up with a new medium that they can no longer control. The Internet doesn’t belong to anyone and it belongs to everyone.

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President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that read “The Buck Stops Here.” I always liked him when I was a kid because he was a plain and simple, straight-forward guy who was willing to take full responsibility for solving problems.

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“When someone is running a con on you, you won’t be able to stop them until you understand how their con works.”

- Bob Grant

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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.

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Valerie Thomas

Valerie Thomas writes a great analysis on the StarCaps case and how it relates to the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) and Congress. The NFL and its owners would love to have its powers expanded stealthily by trying to pull a fast one on Congress. We hope someone calls them on it before it happens!

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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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It ‘s almost comical when you look at the bill of goods the NFL and the Alumni are now trying to sell to Retired Players and the Public.

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In January 2009, four Congressmen signed and sent a letter to the Department of Labor about concerns of the integrity of the NFLPA election process. At the behest of his daughter Mary, Congressman Jim Moran looked into the matter.

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A few months ago, the media reported that newly-elected NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith had returned to D.C. from another road trip meeting with active players, only to find his office engulfed in flames. (Read that post from June HERE.) Apparently someone had left a candle burning in an adjacent bathroom late at night while the new boss was away… (?!!!) It seems that a lot of old Gene Upshaw memorabilia may have been damaged or destroyed in the fire.

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NFLPA's Revolving Door

A Call for Transparency and Accountability continue reading »