And it Begins: Latest NFL concussion suit cites Saints' bounties
 

GREG BLUESTEIN | The Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) Four former players have filed the latest lawsuit claiming the NFL didn't properly protect its players from concussions, citing the bounties paid to New Orleans Saints players for hard hits as just the most recent evidence of the league's violent culture.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in state court in Atlanta, said the Saints' pay-for-pain system was another example the league ''explicitly relied on violence'' and neglected to educate players on the dangers of concussions. The NFL's investigation found that former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams offered thousands of dollars in cash payouts for violent hits over the past three seasons.

Ex-players Myron Guyton, Lomas Brown, Jessie Small and Willie Whitehead do not claim in their lawsuit to be victims of Williams' bounty system but cite it as the latest example of a culture that has left former players with debilitating conditions.

''There is nothing new or unique about what Gregg Williams said. Although the NFL has now punished Williams and the Saints, for almost its entire history the NFL glorified violent hits,'' said the complaint. ''It encouraged its players to think of themselves as gladiators. But, along the way, the NFL failed to educate its players about the consequences of such a win-at-all costs mentality.''

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said any allegation that the league intentionally sought to mislead players is meritless.

''It stands in contrast to the league's actions to better protect players and advance the science and medical understanding of the management and treatment of concussions,'' he said.

Guyton played for the New York Giants and New England Patriots in the 1980s and 1990s; Brown played for five teams over a 17-year career that ended in 2002; Small played for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Phoenix Cardinals and the Houston Oilers between 1989 and 1993; and Whitehead played for the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints from 1995 to 2006.

Atlanta attorney and NFL agent Von DuBose filed the lawsuit on behalf the four players and their wives. He said the men suffer from memory loss, headaches, depression and other symptoms characteristic of those with traumatic brain injuries. They are among more than 1,000 former NFL players suing the league, according to lawyers involved. The cases say not enough was done to inform players about the dangers of concussions in the past, and not enough is done to take care of them today.

''I've been hearing this stuff for years. And it instantly made sense when this concussion information started to come out,'' said DuBose. ''The dots started to connect.''

Gabe Feldman, a sports law professor at Tulane University, said the reference to the bounty system could help plaintiffs paint a picture of the sport as ''not only violent but unnecessarily violent.'' And though he doubts the new claim will be a ''game changer,'' he still expects more lawsuits to cite the scandal.

''It certainly could be persuasive in the eyes of a jury,'' he said.

The complaint filed Monday said the league encouraged players to view themselves as warriors and sold films that lionized the most brutal hits, such as 1992's ''The Best of Thunder and Destruction.'' It includes the cover of the VHS tape, which shows a player striking the back of an opponent's head while a teammate tugs the same player's facemask.

''This gladiator mentality may have allowed the NFL to generate enormous profits, but it has left its players with serious life-altering injuries, including various degrees of brain damage,'' the complaint said.

As recently as 2009, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell did not acknowledge a link between head injuries on the field and brain diseases later in life. But the league has taken steps to better protect players in the past few years, and last month expanded the definition of ''defenseless players'' who may not be hit in the head or neck.

The Saints case is an example, though, of the competing messages that linger in some locker rooms.

The league's investigation found that Williams' bounty system offered off-the-books cash payments of $1,500 for ''knockouts,'' in which an opposing player was knocked out of a game, or $1,000 for ''cart-offs,'' in which an opponent needed help off the field. The league has said the bounty pool grew as large as $50,000, and that as many as 27 Saints defenders may have taken part.

The investigation led to the indefinite suspension of Williams, who has apologized for the running the system, and the season-long suspension of Saints coach Sean Payton, who was found to have initially lied about the existence of a bounty program and instructed his defensive assistants to do the same.

The lawsuit filed Monday seeks to force the NFL to better educate players on the dangers of traumatic head injuries during the crucial period immediately after the draft.

''That's when the guys are most impressionable,'' said DuBose. ''One of the things that retired athletes tell me is that they could have changed their style of play if they had known. They could have done something else, but they were robbed of the information because the information flow was so one-sided.''

Oh, brother... http://smileys.on-my-web.com/reposit...g/toilet-2.gif

"The lawsuit, filed Monday in state court in Atlanta....."

That was all I needed to read. LOL.

I don't get this! They were all playing football by Jr. High, self awareness has to play a part somewhere in the defense...

They had to know that they could get hurt, but that didn't stop them from playing...

Well, I can't be expected to know that the coffee I just bought is hot and can be painful if spilled on my lap without someone explicitly telling me so, now can I?!

Like that person who sued McDonalds a few years back, bought a "hot" cup of coffee and burns their lips. And can sue, really? :rolleyes:

That will be their next lawsuit filed, why don't they suit their parents for letting them play a sport that kept them off the streets or shoveling sheet somewhere that paid so much more money I'm sure. These are college educated men that knew and went for a lifestyle that most of us will never see, really makes me feel for these guys how about you. You can educate an idiot but he will always be just that, an educated idiot..

You had to say 'lips' didn't you!!

Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I was mistaken, I didn't remember that she had "spilled" her coffee. So she sued, because she made a mistake. :doh:

You have to admit that there are certain similarities with these type of lawsuits and that example.

Enjoy the last of the NFL. You re watching it's demise. We don't know it yet, but this game is finished.

Gentlemen are you ready to rumble?????? Not anymore.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/image...99178644_6.jpg

I like that statement.

Fixed that one for you, NFL spokesblowhard.

Gimme mo money. I blew all my money and need to feed my chirren.

The NFL as we knew it is over guys, its simply a matter of time before its unrecognizable.

When you sign up to play football, you know the risks of injury it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that this is a violent game. If you don't want to live the rest of your life as a vegetable then maybe you shouldn't have made your living off of this game.

I'm so sick and tired of hearing these ex-players complain about their medical problems after they have retired, I could be wrong but I don't think Gleason has signed on board with these lawsuits. If anyone would have a reason to sue it's him and I'm sure a few others. BUT for the most part it seems like ex-players that used up all their cash and now trying to bite the hand that feed them to cover their medical costs

GREG BLUESTEIN | The Associated Press
''There is nothing new or unique about what Gregg Williams said. Although the NFL has now punished Williams and the Saints, for almost its entire history the NFL glorified violent hits,'' said the complaint. ''It encouraged its players to think of themselves as gladiators. But, along the way, the NFL failed to educate its players about the consequences of such a win-at-all costs mentality.''

I remember as a kid having a VCR tape that was named "The Top 100 Hits of NFL History" Number 1 was Chuck Bednarick almost decapitating Frank Gifford .... hypricrites

Yep......that about sums it up. I can't get over how much money these guys make, but are broke 2-5 years after they retire & filing for bankruptcy. Look at Brunell, T.O., & Warren Sapp!

Hey....didn't Willie Whitehead play for the Saints? Damn bastard.

Yep, yep, and yep

And this; ladies and gentlemen, is the main reason the NFL is making an example of us. Ex-NFL players blow through their money after they retire and making up lawsuits is the only way they can get another payday. The NFL realizes more and more players are suing to make up for their poor financial management. When the bounty scandal fell into the NFL's lap it gave the NFL a way to protect themselves. Unfortunately, some of these pathetic losers may actually win their cases but with the actions the NFL took against us, no player will have a case in the future.

... I don't know. It may actually backfire on the NFL. Once it gets to court, the lawyers for the plaintiffs are not just going to stop at the 2009-2011 Saints, they are going to dig a lot deeper into all the other teams, for a lot longer time period. Lomas Brown, for example, finished his career in 2002. The players suing the NFL and their lawyers understand why the NFL did what they did now, they aren't stupid.

This is nothing more than 4 former "Broke" (as in no money), players want to get them some money.

This is something I would expect from a Siefield episode. With the Lawyer "Jakey:. "Who told you to put the balm on?"

24 kt pools ain't cheap, son!!!!

I agree, in the short term they may face a few more lawsuits and players may dig for evidence of other bounties. But this was a long term move by the NFL. They can now say any player drafted from here going forward will have no case against them with these kind of lawsuits. That was the point I was making all along. It gives them a cutoff where in the future these lawsuits will have no premise. NFL's thinking is pay a little more now or pay a lot more later.

You underestimate the power of the smell of money and out-of-court settlements... er.. dark side of the force, young Skywalker

(gasp!) a sport where everyone runs into everyone has a violent culture!

A sport where lineman practice hitting a dummy is violent!


Hockey on the other hand has no culture of violence....just a crappy dental plan.

It would be hard to argue otherwise, since they allow fist fights during the game.

But, hockey has been dealing with a serious problem with concussions for the past couple of years, and there have been rule changes in an attempt to cut down on those type of injuries - heck, next year they're even going to change the icing rule to a "hybrid icing" which will supposedly cut down on the heavy collisions when players race the length of the ice to touch the puck.

So, all contact sports are dealing with their own problems, which is simply a result of players having evolved to a different level than what the particular rules were designed for - and the leagues always blame the players.

There's serious talk of eliminating the kickoff from games now.

Next: The forward pass!

Well you KNOW it had to be ATL. Only thing is, the Saints didn't have a bounty system when those guys played, bunch of morons. To all the selfrighteous other teams and their fans, I quote," THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS" all you testifiers and persecutors you will have to account for the things you do.

Hockey has a concussion problem cause their cash cow (Crosby) has pcs and will use it as an excuse to not play till the playoffs, I like hockey and love the fact while they don't condone the violence they don't act like hyprictrites and try to stop it while still making money off their violent sport while preaching player safety like the NFL

It's far more than just about Crosby, granted his case has gotten the most publicity, but he is by no means the only player who has had his career jeopardized because of being inflicted by the concussion syndrome.

For example, Boston Bruins center Marc Savard hasn't been able to play in two seasons because of the concussions he had and to this day even his every day life is apparently a challenge because of the lingering effects of the syndrome.

He has problems with his sight in both its focus, but also because he is extremely sensitive to light and conditions where the overall lighting changes quickly. Also his motor skills remain troublesome.

Savard was a really promising center and unfortunately it seems that he won't be able to return to hockey or have a normal civil life ever again - that is both a loss to the hockey community and to his family.


Besides the concussion problem, the NHL has also been dealing with a problem concerning former enforcers - in recent years number of them have died amidst some shady circumstances.

There have been reports of abnormally high depression amongst them coupled with mis-usage of pain medicine, which has led to some dying of a related cause and even one or more taking their own life.


So, hockey has a lot of problems also, but the difference to the NFL seems to be that the league itself and the owners are more active in trying to find solutions to these problems in order to remedy the situation.

I don't know if I'd be that generous to the NHL. Yes they are making headway but most of that came from the death of something like 7 players and former players last offseason. If that many NFL players died in a span of three months with similar circumstances then it would probably be a different story. Also, I think it can be said that hockey players have more of an understanding, or at least acceptance of the risks involved.

True, I was merely referring to the fact of how much they've already done in trying to combat some of these problems versus the NFL.

There have been rule changes and physical changes like with the changes they made to the rinks - the boards now absorb more of the mass of the impact and the glasses were made safer with curved extensions, among other things.

Hockey is in some respects even more brutal than football because the speed of the game versus football makes up for heavier collisions even if the players themselves are smaller in stature.

So players themselves have to take their share of the responsibility and adjust their actions on the ice accordingly, but all of us who have played a sport of some sort know that it is easier said than done in the heat of the game.

But, you're right - a lot had to happen for them to really take notice of the severity of the issue, and that is always very unfortunate.

Lemme get this straight. Seeing images of violent contact celebrated, and, the monetary and social rewards of subjecting themselves to that violent contact, these men voluntarily and explicitly demanded employment doing the same. In addition, every team had internal pools and incentives on "special circumstances" in which the players either devised or participated. Further, players hid injuries, especially head trauma, from medical and coaching staff to prevent being removed from games.

Now these same player are saying that they didn't know it could hurt them?

How is the NFL negligent? It hid your injuries, or potential injuries from you????

I'm a reasonable man, but don't bull**** me.

Agreed 100%.

hammer-nail.

there's alot of people's backs being pissed on, yet being told it's raining, instead.

The way I read that statement, is that the ex-players are trying to minimize and/or discredit the NFL's show of force against the Saints, since the NFL has taken the "I am SHOCKED!" stance on the entire Saints situation, trying to portray the Saints as rogues in the league, rather than standard fare since the beginning of football.