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
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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Give me a break idiots. Football was the career path you all chose and if you weren’t smart enough to know the risks then don’t blame the hand that fed you all those millions. Of course there were risks. Head injuries are serious. EVERYONE knows that.
exactly – huge guys hitting each other daily for years – who would have thought this could cause injuries – case dismissed
Ex players don't expect most of you to understand this issue seeing as how half of you never played the game or any sport for that matter.
Lauren: it is hard to believe you are a woman. Many of these players did not make milions. The question is were they lied to about the risk
HAHA. What a joke. Money corrupts. If they win, guess who will pay for it? Watch your ticket prices go up. Glad I tuned out professional sports 20 years ago. Worthless slime.
Lies I say- I read 1 sentence, LIES.
They get paid MILLIONS because they KNOW they're going to TOTAL their bodies playing that bloodsport.
Who here didn't already know that Football is a dangerous sport? Everyone knows that you can be hurt, including brain trauma. This isn't anything new. It wasn't new in 1984 when I first played football, and it's nothing new now. This is why these guys are paid a lot of money. Now they need to nuttup and stop crying. Lawyers are basically trying to make a cash grab. Nothing more.
WOW!!! Lawyers and greedy people never cease to amaze me. Failed to acknowledge and address risks associated with the sport and then failed to tell players about the risks they faced???? REALLY??? Well I'll be darned!! Who woulda thunk it?? I never could have ever imagined this game was potentially harmful! What a hot steamy load of crap. Thanks a lot for ruining my favorite sport, a**holes.
Your lifelong dream is to play in the NFL. They tell you that it may result in serious injuries that you may never fully recover from. NONE of the young men offered a chance at their dreams are going to walk away. These people are done in their chosen careers and now want extra compensation. If you don't want to get hurt, don't play contact sports.
You know, from an early age, you are taught to hit, and hit hard, if you are going to stop an opposing player coming at you with everythiing they've got. You can't stop him with an arm-tackle, and you certainly don't lead with the feet. There is simply no way to eliminate or even substantially reduce these injuries without fundemental changes to the game. Time for the National Rugby League.
The next lawsuit will be boxers against boxers who punched each other in the head.
Most or all of these guys went to college and had no knowledge of head traumas? I guess they need to sue their old schools then too. They should have learned about this in class or playing FOOTBALL!
I guess I should sue my employer for my loss of far-sightedness because I had no idea working on a computer caused myopia. REALLY!?? This is just idiotic. "I didn't know McDonalds would make me fat" "I didn't know smoking caused cancer." HELLO we pay you millions of dollars to throw a ball around and OH, by the way, you might get hurt!!
Okay, football is bad for your health but boxing is okay, right?
The ones who shoulder the responsibility are the doctors who allowed the coaches to put players back in the game. My father-in-law played when there were no facemasks, just a leather "helmet" and knew the risks. He passed away perfectly fine psychologically but had a heart attack. I wonder if we could sue the NFL for that? I'm sure he took a blow to the chest at one point and was allowed back in the game and years later caused this heart failure. Coaches are also to blame for "walking it off" sayings. You walk off a sprained ankle not a head injury.
I AM SURE MORE THAN 3/4 OF THESE PLAYERS ARE BROKE DUE TO POOR INVESTMENT, DRUGS ETC. HOW CAN THESE GIANT LUGS NOT KNOW EVEN FROM COLLEGE THAT BEATING YOUR HEAD INTO OTHERS WON'T CAUSE DAMAGE. IN COLLEGE THEY ONLY THOUGHT OF FAST CARS, MONEY AND WOMEN. WHAT THEY NEED TO DO IS DISBAND THE NFL AND THEY ALL GET JOBS AT HOME DEPOT.
The rich who have high spending habits are finding that thier high cost of living is getting harder to keep up with in this failing ecomomy and ridiculous inflation. If the rich are not sueing, they are pulling pension plans they are paying out, or laying off employees of their corporations. If this is truly about health concerns and not people trying to make money then all the money this suit will cost should go to head trama research! Football players have been paralized and have died for years? Why a suit now?
I knew jocks were dumb, but I had no idea. You play professional FOOTBALL guys, did the NFL really have to withhold the information that you were going to get you brains rattled?
I have no desire to watch em play its all 'bout the money and I am going to sue my employer for withholding information about air condition can cause my brain to freeze