Art Monk vs. NFL

[Giantone]

These are grown men who made a choice to play football and could say no.I don't understand how you hold the league responsible ,anyone playing knows there is a chance they can get hurt at anytime.....or worse.
Most of these men have college degrees and surly were smart enough to know that concussions can cause brain injuries.The NFL changed what they did be it helmits or the way they test the players when the information changed
So if someone I knew dies from an illness and 20 years later they find a cure......can I sue becuase these Doctors should have learned about this illness sooner?

[NC_Skins]

I think one of the primary reasons former players are suing the league isn't because of what we know now about concussions, but because the league didn't go out its way to protect player safety like they are doing now, which has indirectly led to unnecessary hits. Some of these rule and safety changes have been made prior to the whole concussion storm that has hit football.

Just my opinion on this.

[CrustyRedskin]

I guess my neighbor should sue somebody, he was a roofer for about thirty years and cant even walk upright. Maybe my uncle should sue, he was a machinist and mechanic forever and cant even open his hands. Ive been teaching for about 15 years and my minds shot, im lawyering up im fixn to get paidddd beeetches!!!

I guess all enlisted military pros should be lawyering up to.

[NC_Skins]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

This is really starting to get old. Sorry but some of these players are just trying to get paid. Not saying this is the case with Monk but they all knew the risks.

Did they? Probably not. Would it have changed their decision? Probably not.



If I'm correct, people that smoked their whole lives won major lawsuits against the tobacco industry even though there wasn't any evidence at the time of lung cancer and smoking. (or that I know of)

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by NC_Skins

Did they? Probably not. Would it have changed their decision? Probably not.



If I'm correct, people that smoked their whole lives won major lawsuits against the tobacco industry even though there wasn't any evidence at the time of lung cancer and smoking. (or that I know of)

how many former players actually have brain damage from playing football? a very very small number. it's just that the guys that actually did or do have it, it's been overplayed by the media. what about the thousands of guys that had numerous head hits and are fine?

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

how many former players actually have brain damage from playing football? a very very small number. it's just that the guys that actually did or do have it, it's been overplayed by the media. what about the thousands of guys that had numerous head hits and are fine?

....Not trying to be smartass here but did you ever play orginized football,high school or higher?Point is that we only see the games how many do you think got these concussions in practice or in scrimages etc?
First one one I got(from football) was in 7th grade playing for a rec team according to the coach..."I just got my bell rung".If you have played contact full tackle football over any amount of time you have had a concussion my be a small one ,might just seem like a small headach but you have had one.This is why I ask the question why blame and how do you prove it was all the NFL's fault I have no qualms with the players saying they have this condition at all.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by Giantone

....Not trying to be smartass here but did you ever play orginized football,high school or higher?Point is that we only see the games how many do you think got these concussions in practice or in scrimages etc?
First one one I got(from football) was in 7th grade playing for a rec team according to the coach..."I just got my bell rung".If you have played contact full tackle football over any amount of time you have had a concussion my be a small one ,might just seem like a small headach but you have had one.This is why I ask the question why blame and how do you prove it was all the NFL's fault I have no qualms with the players saying they have this condition at all.

Yes I did....for many years. I got a concussion, took some smelling salt and was fine. Football is dangerous, these guys could've done something else w/ their lives. IF we know what we know now everys single one of the people that are suing would've still played. So I guess next we're going to see boxers, UFC fighters, firefighters and so on...start suing? Give me a break. So tired of this entire concussion deal. The trickle down effect is killing football.

[SirClintonPortis]

Originally Posted by NC_Skins

Did they? Probably not. Would it have changed their decision? Probably not.



If I'm correct, people that smoked their whole lives won major lawsuits against the tobacco industry even though there wasn't any evidence at the time of lung cancer and smoking. (or that I know of)

Highly unlikely if your "just a guy" or "group of guys" doing the suing and the lawsuit was filed in the early 90s or before . The following article was written in 2000.
A Tobacco Lawsuit Primer - Slate Magazine

Individual smokers. Smokers have been suing tobacco companies since the 1950s. Until recently, they have been almost entirely unsuccessful--mainly because tobacco companies argued effectively that smoking is a personal choice and that people have known of its harmful side effects for years. That argument is proving less effective these days as plaintiffs produce documents proving that cigarette makers have known all along their product is addictive. The next logical inference--if cigarettes are addictive, then people don't choose to smoke them--has led to a couple of multimillion-dollar jury awards in recent months. In February, a California jury ordered Philip Morris to pay $51.5 million to a woman who said she developed inoperable lung cancer from smoking, and a month later, a state jury in Oregon awarded $81 million to the family of a man who smoked Marlboro cigarettes for 40 years before his death. Both awards were cut in half by the trial judges, and the cases are still on appeal.
Advertisement

Groups of many smokers. Class-action suits are brought by a few plaintiffs on behalf of many. In Miami, three plaintiffs sued Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard, the Liggett Group, and Brown & Williamson on behalf of as many as 500,000 addicted Floridians who suffer from certain smoking-related illnesses. Estimates suggest that various cigarette makers currently face as many as 125 similar suits across the country. Big Tobacco has been quite successful defending against these lawsuits; in 1995, for example, a federal appeals court threw out one class-action suit filed on behalf of more than 100 million smokers nationwide.

The tobacco industry was dealt a huge death blow when Jeffery Wigand decided to come out and talk about the details on how cigarettes were addictive and the like. Getting him to talk wasn't easy, as he experienced much coercion to stay silent. And the whole ordeal wrecked his personal life in the process.

[firstdown]

Its like Evel Knievel sueing Harley Davidson for his injuries.

[The Goat]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Its like Evel Knievel sueing Harley Davidson for his injuries.

Wait...that's true...totally true!

[Defensewins]

Its all about money? Really?
It is called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. It is about awareness and creating funds for more research. Amazing that it is independent Research Universities like the Sports Legacy Institute at Boston University that is at the forefront of researching this condition. This is the same group that studied Dave Duerson's brain and will be studying Seau's.
I would be interested to see how much the $9-billion a year NFL spends to help research this disease?
All the while the citizen's of Minnesota are being forced to spend tax payer money to build the nfl a new stadium. Yeah you are right, the players are greedy.

OTL: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy - ESPN Video - ESPN

This video gets really interesting at the 01:19 mark.

[GusFrerotte]

Originally Posted by Defensewins

Its all about money? Really?
It is called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. It is about awareness and creating funds for more research. Amazing that it is independent Research Universities like the Sports Legacy Institute at Boston University that is at the forefront of researching this condition. This is the same group that studied Dave Duerson's brain and will be studying Seau's.
I would be interested to see how much the $9-billion a year NFL spends to help research this disease?
All the while the citizen's of Minnesota are being forced to spend tax payer money to build the nfl a new stadium. Yeah you are right, the players are greedy.

OTL: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy - ESPN Video - ESPN

This video gets really interesting at the 01:19 mark.

Ah dude, players know it is a dangerous, rough sport, when they decide to play the game, just like hockey players, or even race car drivers know they could get into a serious car accident. If the players are just trying to increase awareness or get the NFL to maybe spend more on protective equipment I am all for it, but to be honest, with these guys getting bigger and faster every decade, it is going to be very hard to really increase the protection they can get. The whole thing is tremendous blunt force. Maybe create a helmet with some sort of shock absorber mechanism, but even that might only alleviate the force some.

[Defensewins]

Originally Posted by GusFrerotte

Ah dude, players know it is a dangerous, rough sport, when they decide to play the game, just like hockey players, or even race car drivers know they could get into a serious car accident. If the players are just trying to increase awareness or get the NFL to maybe spend more on protective equipment I am all for it, but to be honest, with these guys getting bigger and faster every decade, it is going to be very hard to really increase the protection they can get. The whole thing is tremendous blunt force. Maybe create a helmet with some sort of shock absorber mechanism, but even that might only alleviate the force some.

For me it is about raising awareness. Especially for parents that let their small little kids play full contact pee-wee football or hockey. They might think differently once educated on the real risks of exposing a young child to a certain sport at such an early age.
I had never heard of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy until just a few months ago. I did not know that it has been found in kids as young as 18 years old.
As the research and funding continue to grow we will learn more about this preventable condition. I hear they are close to developing a test that will identify it in the living.

What shocked me is when Kurt Warner was recently quoted on "The Dan Patrick Show", saying he would prefer if his children did not play football. Backlash and criticism followed, “I think it’s irresponsible and unacceptable,” Merril Hoge said on "NFL Live" on ESPN. "He has thrown the game that has been so good to him under the bus. He sounds extremely uneducated.”
Really?
Merril Hoge a former running back suffered a concussion during the 1994 season with the Bears, but was cleared to play without further examination by the team doctor. A few weeks later, he suffered another concussion, this one causing him to stop breathing. Hoge was eventually resuscitated and spent two days in intensive care, which marked the end of his football career.

In the weeks, months, and years following this incident Merril Hoge experienced severe memory loss and even had to learn to read again.

It is nearly mind-boggling to hear Hoge, who nearly lost everything on the field, not only question Kurt Warner’s safety-related comments, but to essentially call blasphemy on the Super Bowl MVP. Hoge more than anyone should understand the extreme risks that come with playing an extremely violent sport.

[MTK]

A little background

NFL concussion class action: Could the league withstand a lawsuit from players with brain injuries? - Slate Magazine

[GusFrerotte]

Also, it is a condition, not a disease. A disease can hit you without any warning, these guys would be fine if they didn't subject themsleves to powerful blows.