NFL’s corporate greed has run amok!

[white is right]

Ditka, DeLamielleure introduce DeMarco in fight to take care of ex-players

ESPN.com news services

Updated: June 11, 2007, 4:52 PM ET

* Comment
* Email
* Print

Pro football Hall of Famers Mike Ditka and Joe DeLamielleure introduced former Jaguars and Bengals offensive lineman Brian DeMarco on Monday as an example of the NFL players association's failure to guarantee the medical care of its former players.

In doing so, Ditka and DeLamielleure continued their battle with union boss Gene Upshaw and put a face to their campaign. The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund has been established to provide medical relief for former players. Ditka, who is an analyst for ESPN, is on the organization's board of directors.

DeMarco, 35, said he and his family have been homeless three times since he retired in 2000 with back and elbow injuries, and he needed a cane to walk to the podium on Monday.

"My right leg is completely numb. I have extreme nerve pain in my arms," DeMarco said, according to The Chicago Tribune. "I have lost my grip ... my ability to hold my kids."

DeMarco said he exhausted his savings paying for medical expenses. He said he hasn't been given the opportunity to visit league doctors and hasn't received any response from the union in his requests for help.

"I am not the only one," he said, according to the Tribune. "Whether you played in the NFL or not, poverty is poverty."

"All we're saying is do the right thing," Ditka said in an interview with ESPN.

"I would like to see a fund established that would take care of retired football players ... that won't make them jump through hoops when they need medical assistance."

DeLamielleure again responded to Upshaw's comments about him and his criticism of his support for Gridiron Greats that appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News.

"He threatened to break my neck," DeLamielleure said, according to the Tribune. "I say that he stunk as a union leader for 20 years. Screw Upshaw. He stuck it to us for 20-some years. I doubt Donald Fehr would have such a cozy relationship with Bud Light.......

 

[C Darwin]

This is just another reason to boycott the NFL product.

 

[Freedom]

Yes. Professional athletes are so downtrodden. Like the coal miners and sweat shop workers of the 1870s, these athletes are mistreated so much and exploited by the few.

Pro athletes in general are spoiled brats today as far as pay goes. I've lost so much interest in the NFL since I realized that most players don't care whether they win or lose. McNabb once said in an interview that "it is ONE OF our goals...Yeah, I would like to do that sometime...I think it would be cool to win a Super Bowl." He said it so casually as if he had more important goals. Fans are the only exploited people in professional sports. They scream and sweat and cry for these pro teams and the players care less.

Iraq war veterans don't even get to do something they love with the prospect of big money though, and they don't get good health care at all.

Police, fireman, and miners are frequently killed, while working at wages much lower than NFL wages.

 

[Lance Alworth]

I'm very curious as to which side most CF members take on this issue

 

[White Shogun]

How many people have health care guaranteed by their former employers? The only one I can think of is military veterans.

 

[Lance Alworth]

I don't understand how these NFL millionaires end up pissing away their money. Now they're b*tching about how they don't have benefits? Don't they have college degrees to fall back on? Something doesn't smell right here

 

[white is right]

I don't understand how these NFL millionaires end up pissing away their money. Now they're b*tching about how they don't have benefits? Don't they have college degrees to fall back on? Something doesn't smell right here

If you can't roll out of bed in the morning what job can you do? The guy that they had in the press conference was the equivalent of the construction labourer that falls of a roof and is suing the WCB for benefits. In most cases these guys can walk away with good settlements. But in the case of the NFL they stonewall these guys to death. Seeing the guys face in the camera you know he was that desperate for help. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but in front of the camera.

 

[Leonardfan]

It is a hard arguement for me. The older players did not get paid nearly as much as the current players get. Do the current players need such rediculous amounts of money? I don't think so. The older players are the ones who laid the foundation for the game while the new ones just take advantage of it and ride the wave of money the get undeservedly so. If the injuries stem from football I think the former employer has to do something to compensate its employees. I think the current players need to be given less money because they put out a shoddier product which is more glitz and showboating rather than playing for the love of the game, sportsmanship and compeition. So yea the older players who have been injured deserve to be taken care of if they were hurt in the line of work. Those applying for the aid should also prove they were not careless with earnings made.

 

[White Shogun]

It's one thing to guarantee medical care, and another to be awarded compensation for injuries sustained on the job. However, did the player knowingly enter into an agreement in which he waived compensation for injuries sustained on the field? Was disability or other insurance unavailable to the player, either through the NFL or private insurers?

Is there a moral difference between requiring the government to insure everyone or forcing the employer to do so?

If a former lineman gets diabetes and dies of a heart attack 5 years after he retires, is the NFL responsible because they wanted him to gain weight?

 

[Kaptain]

I don't think this is an arguement for disabled player vs. management, but rather disabled player vs. Player's Union. The Union could easily get some sort of trust fund going for past players - they may even have to make small concessions in their contract. The selfishness of today's athletes won't warrant that type of thoughtfulness. I'm sure that yesterday's athletes (mostly whiter) would have been much more compassionate and respectful to their elders and disabled. The problem is with the selfishness of today's athletes and it has a lot to do with race.

 

[Bart]

I read a statistic from a site that said the NFL ownerscurently give 60% of it's gross revenues to the players.The players union in the past several years has allocated more monies for the old-timers who feel they should get more. I found a short article giving some information on payouts to former and current players.


[url]http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/mar/20/pensions-for-ret ired-players-vary-widely/[/url]


The contrast to baseball's retirement program, miles ahead until the late 1990s, only magnifies the discontent among NFL alums.


"As a group, we look at what baseball is getting and think, 'Holy criminy, we missed the boat,'" said Bob St. Clair, a lineman for the 49ers from 1953 to '64.


St. Clair, now 76, made a point not to complain about his own pension. He receives $36,000 annually, reflecting a recent increase of 25 percent negotiated by the NFL Players Association.


Several other 1950s and '60s players, though, resent the difference between their pension income and the much larger payments for modern players. NFL players before 1982 now receive $3,000 annually for each year of service (assuming they spent at least four years in the league, the minimum then needed to vest).


Players since 1998 receive nearly twice that amount ($5,640 per year of service), if they reach the revised vesting minimum of three years. They also can collect income from an annuity.


The NFL has upgraded its retirement program in the past decade, but those benefits will not trickle down to old-timers. The Players Association negotiated a 401(k) plan in 1993 (also common in other sports), in which teams put in $2 for every $1 a player contributes. And an annuity was added in 1998, from which a 10-year veteran could earn more than $100,000 annually.

 

[white is right]

I don't think this is an arguement for disabled player vs. management, but rather disabled player vs. Player's Union. The Union could easily get some sort of trust fund going for past players - they may even have to make small concessions in their contract. The selfishness of today's athletes won't warrant that type of thoughtfulness. I'm sure that yesterday's athletes (mostly whiter) would have been much more compassionate and respectful to their elders and disabled. The problem is with the selfishness of today's athletes and it has a lot to do with race.

In my mind it's half and half. The NFL has tended to stonewall former players trying to get full disability payments and the union seems to not care because the former players don't vote and pay dues anymore. Also I noticed the players mentioned have tended to be white as many of the bad disability claims are by former O-linemen who are majority white.

 

[White Shogun]

Also I noticed the players mentioned have tended to be white as many of the bad disability claims are by former O-linemen who are majority white.

One almost imagines that if there were more former black players complaining about this, there would be all kinds of money and programs for them, put together by both the NFL and the NFLPA.

 

[bigunreal]

I agree completely with Freedom here. Professional athletes are far removed from the realities that working people have to face. What other profession allows one to "retire" in their early to mid-30s? Do these spoiled brats really expect to be set for life from that point on? That's absurd! Even the real old-timers made a very nice living, when compared to the average salary earned by a non-professional athlete. Yes, the amount of money the modern thugs earn is incomprehensible and beyond all reason, but the players in the 60s,70s and 80s were hardly underpaid, in comparison with the public at large. As for DeMarco, this guy retired in 2000; the salaries were pretty good by that point. How could he possibly have squandered all his money away? Was he a crack addict? Do laid-off factory workers have the same argument? Can they call press conferences and demand that their former employers give them enough money so that they don't ever have to work again, even though they might only be 40 or so (as in DeMarco's case)? I do agree, however, that there would be a lot more sympathy for their ridiculous cause if older black players were the ones calling the press conferences.

 

[Lance Alworth]

I'm with bigunreal and freedom. The moral of the story is, dont piss all your money away and make sure you have something to fall back on when your career is over. The fact that these overpaid crybabies (even the ones from the 60's and 70's) expect to be set for life in their mid-30's while the rest of us have to work well into our 50's and sometimes into our 60's is absurd

 

[Matt_Bowen_Fan]

Eh, I look at what Johnny U became in the end. Was there any pension or anything like that when he started playing? These guys do put their bodies on the line, and frankly should get better healthcare. The owners can afford it.

Let's also not forget inflation. What seemed like a lot of money when they were playing and out by age 40 or so when most men were still earning and planning for their futures hasn't stretched.

 

[PitBull]

If someone is permanently disabled form a work activity, no matter how well
paid they are, no matter how hazardous the work, then as far as I am
concerned, the employer has some responsibilty. I wonder if a soldier, cop,
or a fireman who got permanently disabled while working in what they know
is a dangerous job would be told he should have saved more? Not hardly.
You can claim that football is silliness and that those other two jobs are far
more important, and I would agree with you. Having said that, the owners
make outrageous money on this silliness because of the players.So spread
it around and pay the disabled. The owners hate whites anyway. Make them
suffer.

 

[White Shogun]

Like I said, there is a difference between compensation for injury and permanent health care for the rest of your life. How much is crippled limb worth? What does happen to an injured soldier, cop, or fireman? What kind of setup do they get?

Are professional athletes ineligible for for Social Security Disability?

Does an employer's ability to pay make a difference in how much an employee should be compensated for injury? Is an arm an arm no matter where you worked when you were injured, or does your former occupation make a difference in what your arm is worth compared to someone else?

Most team owners were beyond wealthy before they ever bought a pro franchise.

I'd say I'm probably between the viewpoints expressed by other members here. I'd say if they're injured on the job, they should be compensated (if it's in their contract, otherwise, straight workman's comp, if applicable). But I disagree that a former employer is required to pay for someone else's health care the rest of their lives.

Maybe if we all just vote for Hillary we won't have to worry about health care at all.

 

[KG2422]

There should be public health care just like there is public education. They are equally important. We are the only majority white country that doesn't have universal health care. We spend more than other nations that cover ALL of their citizens. We have the largest economy in the world, yet we are 27th in the world in life expectancy. Everyone should have health care just like everyone receives mail. Of course, if you want to pay extra you can go to what may be a superior private hospital or doctor. That is the way the Australians do it. I think the only reason why America doesn't have this is because our country has had a sizeable non-white population for a long time. People don't like their tax dollars to benefit other groups more than their own. If we spent less money bombing Israel's neighbors we would have plenty of funds to take care of old pro ball players and the rest of us too.

 

[White Shogun]

Dude... you're saying we need public health care like public education? That's a scary thought.

No thanks.

Edited by: White Shogun

 

[PitBull]

No, no! No universal health care! You don't understand what you are
advocating! NO! It will bankrupt us. People should pay their own bills!

The solution to this is for the owners and players to contribute money
into a disability insurance and/or pension fund. Mike Ditka is right that
Gene Upshaw and the wife-beater Dave Duerson have dragged their feet
and done nothing on this issue, although it has been there for a long
time. House negroes Upshaw and wiife-beater Duerson don't want to
rock the boat with the owners. That type of fund would be expensive,
and might lower salaries too much. The young ghetto negroes want that
money for chasing white women and buying dope and flashy cars. But
that actually is the solution.

KG2422, government ruins just about everything! There's no reason why
people can't pay their money into an insurance pool, or pay for everyday
prescriptions, tests, and checkups. A lot of those healthcare systems you
metioned are badly flawed. For instance, Canada and the UK are
importing third world doctors in to hold down costs! We don't want that!
Noooooooo!

White Shogun, the owners and players should set up the system I
described. For past players, there should be a pool set up by the owners
to pay the bills. They'll just pass the costs onto the dumbass fans and
advertisers who root for the black afoletes. Give the old dudes a break
(I'm actually older than Demarco)!

 

[White Shogun]

PitBull,
I agree, that sounds like a good solution. That's what they should do, but should they be forced to do so?

I definitely do not want government run health care. I don't really want the federal government running much of anything, personally. Do you want the same people who run the FBI, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security running your local doctor's office???? Not only will it be run more inefficiently, they'll use it to collect information and keep tabs on everyone.

NO THANKS!! NO NO NO!!

 

[jaxvid]

Public run Health Care: a goevernment agency that will run with the efficiency of the Post Office, the compassion of the IRS and the speed of the Dept. of Motor Vehicles. Sounds great! Where can I sign up?

Sure would like Kennedy-Bush-McCain-Clinton in charge of my health services!

 

[Lance Alworth]

Public health care is a recipe for disaster. We already know how efficient the public school system is. They can't teach the 10 Commandments but they can teach that its ok to be a homo and that you and that the best way to prevent aids is the use of a condom

 

[KG2422]

Dude... you're saying we need public health care like public education? That's a scary thought.

No thanks.

Did you go to public schools? I went to an all-white one. It seemed fine. Before public schools, only the rich went to private schools or had tutors. No thanks to that system.

And for those who say that the government is inefficient, I agree, especially in this country. But I would rather the government run the health care system and negotiate fair prices and wages with pharmaceutical companies and health care professionals than have the out of control prices we have now. Aren't many insurance companies run by Jews or does it just seem like it because they screw you every chance they get?

I didn't say we should copy Canada or the UK with their pigment envy, although the UK does produce some nice research. Australia seems to have a good thing going. We may even need to look at Japan. They seem to be doing everything a little bit better over the past few decades unfortunately.Edited by: KG2422