Get it done, Goodell
Posted: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 11:45 PM
Where in the name of humanity is Roger Goodell?
You've probably read or heard about the war of words going on between former player and coach Mike Ditka and the NFL Players Association.
It's getting ugly, with former Bears player Dave Duerson, who is a member of the league's benefits board, accusing his former coach of not caring about players when he was leading the Bears and saying his group does plenty for disabled former players. Gene Upshaw, the head of the NLFPA, has been calling some of his own former constituents liars. Ditka is going on every media outlet that will have him demanding that someone do something for players who have been maimed by the game.
The poster player of the moment is Brian DeMarco, a former Jaguars offensive lineman who can't stand up without assistance, has been reduced to periods of having to house his family in a self-storage unit, is in his mid-30s, and gets virtually no help from the league or the union.
It's ugly and mean-spirited, especially on the union side. Upshaw has his health, his mental faculties and an enormous salary, and he's saying that guys who can't walk or work should be happy with the scraps the system throws them.
If you haven't cried for a while, read this story about what's become of John Mackey, the former All-Pro tight end for the Colts. He's in his mid-60s and has dementia. He's hardly the only one. His wife knows of at least 20 former NFL players in the same condition.
The NFL won't pay these players disability because they say it can't be proved that their dementia is the result of playing football.
In DeMarco's case, Upshaw brags about helping the player out with about $9,500 in help for rent – over a period of years. DeMarco, who once earned about a million dollars a year, says he's been wiped out by medical expenses.
Let's go back to the first sentence of this piece: Where is Goodell? He's the NFL commissioner, the man who can make things happen, the man who can slap the owners around and call a conference with the union and demand that something be done.
We are talking multi-billion dollar industry here. And we are talking about men who have given everything to the game. And they can't even get health insurance?
I know benefits cost money, but this borders on the criminal. The least the league can do is make sure that former players have medical coverage.
DeMarco's body was destroyed in the line of duty. The NFL used him. It has an obligation to help him and ever player who's been reduced to poverty by injuries.
This is no time to be arguing about what role football had to play or debating whether middle-aged guys with dementia got it through football. You get hit in the head repeatedly, you get punch drunk.
It's Goodell's job to take command. It's the union's job to stop ignoring the people who built the game. It's the current players' duty to take care of the people who made their salaries possible.
And it's way past the time to call a former coach and founding member of the NFLPA names simply for demanding what everyone should have by right – justice.
