Retired Players In Difficulty

[sport historian]

The NFL Players Association has always been unwilling to help long-retired players, especally pre-1960 players. Some years ago, they would not give financial assistance to Johnny Unitas. This site has details:

http://gridirongreats.org

 

[Don Wassall]

There's a long article in the 2/4/08 Sports Illustrated about this topic. It focuses on Gene Upshaw and how much the retired players dislike him and have gotten nowhere trying to negotiate with him. Upshaw is portrayed by the author, Gary Smith, as a Magical Negro, as virtually his entire life story is related in worshipping detail, but the disabled players are at least given some space, though the tragic case of the late Mike Webster is never mentioned.


Race is briefly touched on: "Each side smelled racism. 'Seventy percent of the current players are black and 70 percent of the retired players are white,' says [Conrad] Dobler. 'So a cultural thing is going on here. The league that's 70 percent black is telling the league that was 70 percent white, 'Screw you'.'"


"'Race may be an issue,' says [Gene] Henderson, an African American. 'There's been too many comments from retired players about thugs wearing jewels and driving racy cars denying money to the guys who say they built the game and made it great.'"


There's also a brief mention about alleged corruptionwhen former white cornerback Bernie Parrish is mentioned in the article (who I know has been mentioned by Sport Historian before). Parrish was the head of the players union in the early '60s and "turned over to the Justice Department his claims of NFL malfeasance and ties to organized crime -- no charges were ever brought -- and wrote a harrowing expose of the league, 'They Call It a Game,' in 1971."


The article is worth a read for anyone interested in this ongoing battle by theretired players.Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[sport historian]

Don,
I read that article today in the public library. I was interested to learn what Bernie Parrish had done since he left football. He seems to have done well as a hotel developer. However, I don't take everything Parrish says at face value.

Around 1971, when "They Call it a Game," was published, I saw Parrish interviewed on TV. A couple of writers, one of them Paul Zimmerman, I believe, pressed him hard on the charges he made in the book. They demanded that Parrish present proof of game fixing and so on. Bernie sort of laughed and admitted the fixing charge was just a come-on to sell a book.

Upshaw has always been a press favorite, the Proud, Dignified Black Man. Phil Musick once wrote in a Pre-season preview mag that, "Upshaw is the bridge between the black and white players on the Raiders." Or Magical Negro, as Don says.

Gene Upshaw has become the "Head of the NFL Players Association For Life." He started his career in 1967. This would be like a player who started his pro career in 1927 leading the players association in 1968.

 

[Don Wassall]

According to the article, Upshaw faces mandatory retirement in two years when he reaches 65. He apparently operates the union as his own private fiefdom; no one else really knows what's going on or has any authority. I highly doubt any white man could operate in such a manner without facing ever-escalating criticism from the media forcing him to change or resign, since the takeover by the Cultural Marxists in the '60s.

 

[Bart]

Race is briefly touched on: "Each side smelled racism. 'Seventy percent of the current players are black and 70 percent of the retired players are white,' says [Conrad] Dobler. 'So a cultural thing is going on here. The league that's 70 percent black is telling the league that was 70 percent white, 'Screw you'.'"

Not much of a surprise. I would like to see some high profile white athletes take upcauses directed exclusively toward Whites. The other day I read something about Belichick and Brady. Jim Brown is a fan of the coach who has donated time and money to Brown's causes. Brady and pop-singer Bono have worked together in the interests of Africans. Swell. Do rich white people everinvest their fame, money, talent, and energy to help downtrodden Whites? They might promote the United Way or somethinglike that, but they'dneverdo anything exclusively for White groups as they do for countless Black charities and causes.

 

[Don Wassall]

Probably the closest thing I can think of was Farm Aid, spearheaded by John Mellencamp. But Mellencamp is otherwise a disgusting liberal hypocrite, advocating forced racial intermarriage while himself being married to a young blonde supermodel, writing a song in support of the thuggish "Jena 6," and making a lot of other anti-white statements through the years.


Lord knows the white folks in the Appalachians seem to have no champions, nor white children that need adopting, nor poor and working class whites in general. Working class whites seem to be almost totally deracinated and beaten down psychologically. This is where a lot of highly motivated, super-tough athletes should be coming from, the way white ethnics forced their way up the ladder in the first half of the 20th century, but virtually none are.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Great post Bart!

I have known countless whites who are as beaten down and hopeless as anyone could be. I have hurt for these people, and I mean the deep down gut wrenching hurt, because I couldn't do a thing about it. What a shame it is that our "heroes" go overseas and "help out" other cultures races of people instead of their own.Those among us who can (the rich)should be willing and proud to help get our own house in order first.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Here's part of an Appalachian family from the 70s like onesthatare described in part of this book. The look on the face of that mother gets to me.


[url]http://books.google.com/books?id=YZVFRIF42pMC&printsec=f rontcover&vq=Worlds+Apart+Cynthia+Duncan [/url]

 

[screamingeagle]

When LBJ started his "War on Poverty" it was meant to help poor whites. Life magazine had an article on how this progarm would help poor whites in appalachia.
I also remember that when MLK came to Chicago to fight poverty, the poorest sections where what we called the "Hillbilly sections." They were much worse than the negro areas.