A unified lawsuit on behalf of more than 2,000 National Football League players has been filed against the league in federal court, alleging that the NFL failed to acknowledge and address neurological risks associated with the sport and then deliberately failed to tell players about the risks they faced, according to attorneys representing former players.
The complaint, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, unites the more than 80 pending lawsuits filed against the NFL.
“I firmly believe the NFL could have and should have done more to protect Ray. That’s why I am seeking to hold the NFL accountable,” Mary Ann Easterling, widow of former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling, who committed suicide in April after suffering for years from dementia, said in a press release. “Having lived through Ray’s struggle, I desperately hope and pray others can be spared the pain and suffering we have endured – and still endure every day.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy acknowledged the filing, but added that there was nothing new to the claim other than that it merges them all in one place.
"Our legal team will review today's filing that is intended to consolidate plaintiffs' existing claims into one "master" complaint," he said. "The NFL has long made player safety a priority and continues to do so. Any allegation that the NFL sought to mislead players has no merit. It stands in contrast to the league's many actions to better protect players and advance the science and medical understanding of the management and treatment of concussions."
However, many NFL players have claimed they suffer from a variety of injuries because of concussions without really knowing the severity of how badly they could be hurt playing the game.
“The NFL must open its eyes to the consequences of its actions,” Kevin Turner, a former running back for the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles who has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, said in a press release. “The NFL has the power not only to give former players the care they deserve, but also to ensure that future generations of football players do not suffer the way that many in my generation have.”
Lawyers representing the NFL players cited "dementia, depression, reduced cognitive ability, sleeplessness, early-onset Alzheimer’s, and a debilitating and latent disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy" as some of the specific injuries caused by head trauma in the NFL.
“Instead of protecting the health of its players, the NFL’s response to this epidemic of brain injuries was to engage in a campaign of deceit and deception, actively concealing the risks players faced from repetitive impacts,” Christopher Seeger and Sol Weiss, co-lead counsels for the former NFL players, said in a press release. “This case is about providing security and care to former NFL players who have suffered these devastating neurologic injuries, and making the game safer for generations to come.”
Read more about the NFL's concussion problem:
NFL to require sideline test after head blows
Former NFL players: League concealed concussion risks
Film aims to show football's culture of playing despite concussions
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Maybe 1% of these guys in the lawsuit actually has suffered damage due to repeated concussions. The vast majority of the rest almost certainly mismanaged their millions and are looking for a easy paycheck. ChaChing! Easssssssy money!
The guys sueing didnt making millions you bonehead. Understand the issue before posting something stupid.
Not surprising the jealous non-athletes will think this is an obvious money grab. However, it will be interesting to see what kind of evidence the lawyers will present to show the NFL suppressed information regarding concussions and their long-term effects. In civil suits, a preponderance of the evidence is sufficient to win the case. If the players win their case, what will the haters say then?
What a joke! The long-term damage and effects of concussion injuries is only a recent discovery and medical research on it are in it's infancy. Each of these players had personal doctors that weren't influenced by the NFL. Were they actively warning their patient/client on the dangers of concussion injuries? Probably not, because the effects were, until recently, unknown... Do you see Mohammed Ali suing the U.S. Boxing organization? At least this guys are millionaires & have the $$$ to pay for medical care.
MilitaryAF, You are wrong the retired players had to go to NFL approved docs if they participated in the retiree medical plan. These doctors were told to tell the players that their injuries had nothing to do with playing football. The NFL mislead the older players and repeatedly stated that playing football had nothing to do with their conditions.
I love this. Rich guys suing rich guys.
So...you think you might not get brain damage playing a sport with 200-350 pound guys tackling each other, get paid millions of dollars, and then sue the NFL? You know, I might need to sue someone because no one told me if I move boxes I might injure myself. What options are left? Getting rid of the sport? Telling players they can be injured? Modifying the sport?
Shouldn't their union have been watching out for this?
The guys who sued have been hit in the head too many times. They forgot why they had to wear a helmet to play football. Duh.
Here's an idea.... don't play! They had a choice, millions of dollars and head injuries or not playing but probably not having head injuries. This is part of the reason they're paid so much.
I'm a woman. I've never played a day of football in my life. I have been watching the game my whole life. I'm the mother of a 7-year-old son. He will never play football because of the dangers involved. There are many other sports that are more challenging and much safer. I've stated this well before I had children. It is not the NFL's fault that football is dangerous and it has not just come light that it is. Though the NFL holds some responsibility to put policies into place to avoid such injuries if they indeed want to continue to promote the game, much of it lies with the players who willingly choose/chose to play. There are risks involved in every sport you choose to participate in. I do CrossFit regularly. I risk injury to my entire body through this. If I get hurt, do I blame the owner of my gym because he didn't warn me enough of the obvious dangers? It would be silly of me to do so, and completely dishonest.
Tamara, you made an excellent analogy!
mickey1313, You can say that, however, if your organization lied and withheld evidence that said that the head trama from playing had more to do with your current condition, wouldn't you be upset?
It's the NFL... big deal...
Why exactly is this breaking news? This is an incredibly common legal procedural occurrence. Just b/cthe NFL is the defendant does NOT make this news.
Please tell me how anyone in his right mind did not/cannot know that constant, exceptionally hard, head banging would be harmful or cause harm to one's head/brain? That just common sense. Get out of the kitchen if you can't stand the heat. If the sport is continually roughened up by coaches that pay bounties, those that receive said bounty benefits and cause bodily harm to other's, must now "pay the piper" too.
Sorry but you played a game your whole life...and it's not like you were going to be scientists to start with.
This is just another disgusting group of people suing cause they want more money.
So they want to make those millions without any risk at all ? This claim is ridiculous.
It they don't want any head trauma head to college, graduate, get a fraction of that over paid salary and there won't be any head trauma but headache over how to pay your bills.
Lawsuit too ridiculious for words. It's a contact sport. They all knew the risks. Don't want concussions? Don't run into large things (head first most of the time) helmet or not.