I was watching ‘Outside the Lines’ on ESPN last Sunday and there was a story about a guy who played for the Minnesota Vikings for about 7-8 years. This was not too long ago and I don’t remember his name right off hand. He was injured in his 2nd year or so with a concussion and things went downhill from there.
The guy started having problems remembering plays, his position, etc. He finally had to retire and things got even worse – depression, headaches, etc. Finally he contacted the union about disability. They sent him to a doctor who confirmed his injury was football related. The NFL and the Union then sent him to a 2nd doctor who also confirmed it. Finally they sent him to a 3rd doctor who did not confirm it and so they denied his benefits. What????
That was the whole point of the story. Gene Upshaw of the Union was shown answering a question at a press conference and basically said that if a doctor confirms the disability is football related, the player is paid, no if’s, and’s or but’s. However, this player was not.
The problem here is that the NFL is making billions per year and yet the league and union can’t pay an injured player’s disability, despite the fact that the first two doctors confirmed it? They sent him to another doctor and then another apparently looking for a reason to deny the claim. These guys have more money than just about anybody outside of Bill Gates. The average career is probably less than 5 years and it’s a shame they can’t treat their retired players better with all the $$$ that are flowing into the league.
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