By Ryan Reeber
I have been paying close attention to all of the lawsuits that have been going on involving the NFL and it's former players. Like most people, I have formed my own opinions but haven't decided to voice them until now.
Since the concussion lawsuit has already happened I'm going to focus my article solely on the most recent lawsuit regarding team doctors hiding injuries and players taking medicines that have permanently damaged their bodies. Please keep in mind that some of the players involved played in the 70's and 80's, so times were a little different then than they are now. Also, my opinions will not apply to ALL players listed in this lawsuit but I certainly think it applies to most.
The lawsuit is targeting many "team doctors" who either misled the players about their injuries, lied to them about injuries, or lied to them about possible side affects to prescription medicines (mainly painkillers). When I first heard of this I instantly thought, oh great, here comes more deadbeat, broke former NFL players trying to make an easy pay day. Here comes another blow to a sport that I enjoyed playing for 9 years and love watching in person or on television. I paid close attention to media outlets and followed this story fairly closely to try to learn as much as I could about it. I do not have all the facts but I have enough to have an opinion.
The first thing about this lawsuit that really irritates me is who is being sued. The former players are blaming the TEAM doctors for how they were treated yet they are suing the NFL as a whole. Now I understand that the NFL is the big kahuna. But the NFL does not decide who these teams employ as their coaches or doctors. If you want to sue who is truly responsible then sue your former team. But why isn't that happening? I believe the answer is simple. These individual teams are worth pennies compared to what the NFL as an entity is worth. Meaning that a favorable decision in any lawsuit against the NFL will pay much more than against any individual team. So far, looks like a cash grab may be the true motive behind this lawsuit.
But that's not the whole story.
These players are claiming that team doctors misdiagnosed, misinformed and sometimes even misled the players about what injuries they sustained. For example, a player in the lawsuit claims he broke his leg and the doctors did not tell him that it was broken, so he played the whole season on a broken leg. Of course I could bring up common sense which should tell someone, "hey, I'm in a lot more pain than what a strain, sprain or bruise gives you....this has to be a break". But I'll give the player the benefit of the doubt on this one. Let's say, for the sake of the argument, that the doctor did lie to the player and the player had no idea. What then? Does the player just blindly follow the doctors advice? Now here is where your opinion might differ from mine. I think it's completely asinine for a player to blindly follow a doctor (who works for the TEAM) and not seek a second opinion. Did these players not have a personal doctor? A doctor that worked for THEM and whom they could trust would have their best interests at heart? I heard Cris Carter (former Buckeye great) say on Mike & Mike that he always got a second opinion from his personal doctor. So clearly, not all of these players lacked common sense. Why didn't these guys get second opinions? Was it pure laziness? Was it blind faith in the wrong people? Were they just "played" by someone they should be able to trust? Personally, I think it's a combination of all those things and an enormous lack of accountability and responsibility.
These players played in the NFL. It's a violent sport in which your bodies get banged up every single day. You know when you strap on those pads that you may get hurt. Wouldn't it be in your best interest to make sure that your body (your most prized possession in your career) is taken care of? Who is supposed to take care of it? Are the doctors responsible for YOUR body or are you? Let's go ahead and bring up the last part of this lawsuit, painkillers.
Some of these former players were prescribed painkillers to help treat the pain from their injuries. Seems pretty common right? Most people now a days know that most, if not all, painkillers can be addicting. But again, this information may not have been well known in the 70's or 80's so I'll yet again give the players a pass on this one. However, I cannot give them a pass for putting pills into their body (again, their "moneymaker") without knowing exactly what they could do. These players are responsible for everything they do to or for their body, including everything they put into it. Stop blaming others for things you should be responsible for. Many of these players, unfortunately, did get addicted to these painkillers and it ruined their life. They went bankrupt trying to afford the pills and some even ended up on the streets because of it. As sad as this is, I have no sympathy.
Bankrupt players suing the NFL...money grab? Sure seems like it.
You can believe the motive behind the lawsuit is fueled by financial reasons or not, that's your choice. But one thing, in my opinion, cannot be debated and that is that these players refuse and still refuse to take ownership of THIER actions. They refuse to take responsibility and accountability for things they did or things they should have done but failed to do. Shame on you. Shame on you for trying to take another shot at a sport I enjoy so very much.
-Ryan Reeber
I have been paying close attention to all of the lawsuits that have been going on involving the NFL and it's former players. Like most people, I have formed my own opinions but haven't decided to voice them until now.
Since the concussion lawsuit has already happened I'm going to focus my article solely on the most recent lawsuit regarding team doctors hiding injuries and players taking medicines that have permanently damaged their bodies. Please keep in mind that some of the players involved played in the 70's and 80's, so times were a little different then than they are now. Also, my opinions will not apply to ALL players listed in this lawsuit but I certainly think it applies to most.
The lawsuit is targeting many "team doctors" who either misled the players about their injuries, lied to them about injuries, or lied to them about possible side affects to prescription medicines (mainly painkillers). When I first heard of this I instantly thought, oh great, here comes more deadbeat, broke former NFL players trying to make an easy pay day. Here comes another blow to a sport that I enjoyed playing for 9 years and love watching in person or on television. I paid close attention to media outlets and followed this story fairly closely to try to learn as much as I could about it. I do not have all the facts but I have enough to have an opinion.
The first thing about this lawsuit that really irritates me is who is being sued. The former players are blaming the TEAM doctors for how they were treated yet they are suing the NFL as a whole. Now I understand that the NFL is the big kahuna. But the NFL does not decide who these teams employ as their coaches or doctors. If you want to sue who is truly responsible then sue your former team. But why isn't that happening? I believe the answer is simple. These individual teams are worth pennies compared to what the NFL as an entity is worth. Meaning that a favorable decision in any lawsuit against the NFL will pay much more than against any individual team. So far, looks like a cash grab may be the true motive behind this lawsuit.
But that's not the whole story.
These players are claiming that team doctors misdiagnosed, misinformed and sometimes even misled the players about what injuries they sustained. For example, a player in the lawsuit claims he broke his leg and the doctors did not tell him that it was broken, so he played the whole season on a broken leg. Of course I could bring up common sense which should tell someone, "hey, I'm in a lot more pain than what a strain, sprain or bruise gives you....this has to be a break". But I'll give the player the benefit of the doubt on this one. Let's say, for the sake of the argument, that the doctor did lie to the player and the player had no idea. What then? Does the player just blindly follow the doctors advice? Now here is where your opinion might differ from mine. I think it's completely asinine for a player to blindly follow a doctor (who works for the TEAM) and not seek a second opinion. Did these players not have a personal doctor? A doctor that worked for THEM and whom they could trust would have their best interests at heart? I heard Cris Carter (former Buckeye great) say on Mike & Mike that he always got a second opinion from his personal doctor. So clearly, not all of these players lacked common sense. Why didn't these guys get second opinions? Was it pure laziness? Was it blind faith in the wrong people? Were they just "played" by someone they should be able to trust? Personally, I think it's a combination of all those things and an enormous lack of accountability and responsibility.
These players played in the NFL. It's a violent sport in which your bodies get banged up every single day. You know when you strap on those pads that you may get hurt. Wouldn't it be in your best interest to make sure that your body (your most prized possession in your career) is taken care of? Who is supposed to take care of it? Are the doctors responsible for YOUR body or are you? Let's go ahead and bring up the last part of this lawsuit, painkillers.
Some of these former players were prescribed painkillers to help treat the pain from their injuries. Seems pretty common right? Most people now a days know that most, if not all, painkillers can be addicting. But again, this information may not have been well known in the 70's or 80's so I'll yet again give the players a pass on this one. However, I cannot give them a pass for putting pills into their body (again, their "moneymaker") without knowing exactly what they could do. These players are responsible for everything they do to or for their body, including everything they put into it. Stop blaming others for things you should be responsible for. Many of these players, unfortunately, did get addicted to these painkillers and it ruined their life. They went bankrupt trying to afford the pills and some even ended up on the streets because of it. As sad as this is, I have no sympathy.
Bankrupt players suing the NFL...money grab? Sure seems like it.
You can believe the motive behind the lawsuit is fueled by financial reasons or not, that's your choice. But one thing, in my opinion, cannot be debated and that is that these players refuse and still refuse to take ownership of THIER actions. They refuse to take responsibility and accountability for things they did or things they should have done but failed to do. Shame on you. Shame on you for trying to take another shot at a sport I enjoy so very much.
-Ryan Reeber
