Media Production Editor
On Feb. 9, ten retired National Football League (NFL) players filed a lawsuit accusing the league’s disability board and commissioner Roger Goodell of frequently denying disability claims. The class-action lawsuit claims that the league’s disability benefits program, commissioner Goodell, and the disability board, found ways, “to limit the payment of benefits to the very players whom the plan was designed to help,” including hiring “biased” physicians to carry out assessments. Additionally, the suit claims that these doctors have a financial interest in denying the player’s claims, as it makes them more likely to get referrals in the future.
The NFL stated that the benefit plans provide more than 330 million dollars to “deserving” players and their families who meet eligibility requirements developed after consultation with mental and physical health experts. The league is a result of the 2011 collective-bargaining agreement between the players and the union and praised as a way to help ailing former players.
During the pandemic, players complained of delays in having their cases reviewed. Lawyer Chris Seeger, said, “They’re a small fraction of the players who have been wronged by the NFL’s disability plan. These former players deserve far more from an organization worth billions of dollars than a sham process in which there’s no chance of success.” Seeger says the lawsuit hopes to have the disability plan, “fulfill its overdue legal responsibilities to players rather than continue to try to dodge accountability every step of the way,” as well the removal of six board members.
Of the ten plaintiffs, one is New York Jets’ Eric Smith, who suffers from head, neck, and lumbar spine injuries. He also suffered 13 documented traumatic brain injuries, for which he was denied line of duty benefits in 2013 and 2014. Smith was finally awarded benefits after appealing in 2015 and noted that his physician’s compensation dropped from 34,269 dollars to 16,711 dollars. Another player, Willis McGahee of the Cleveland Browns, was also seen by a neuropsychologist, who according to a sample, has an 87.5 percent denial rate, the suit says. McGahee said, “It’s time for me to step up. It’s time for other players to step up and say something we’re not just going to sit back and just let it all fall down on us and take the beating. I did it for five years. It got me nowhere. It’s time to open my mouth to say something.”
The other plaintiffs are Super Bowl champion Jason Alford, Daniel Loper, Michael McKenzie, Jamize Olawale, Alex Parsons, Charles Sims, Joey Thomas, and Lance Zeno.
(Sources: CNN, ESPN, Reuters)
Categories: National Sports, Sports