100 Former NFL Players File Lawsuit Against NFL

[DWhite Fan]

Knew this was coming...

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/over-100-former-players-file-lawsuit-against-league-050312

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Knew this was coming...

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/over-100-former-players-file-lawsuit-against-league-050312

will be difficult case to win given they voluntarily played, knew the risks and did it anyway.

 

[DWhite Fan]

will be difficult case to win given they voluntarily played, knew the risks and did it anyway.

I agree. If you dance to the music, sometimes you have to pay the fiddler...
:starspin

 

[Rogah]

will be difficult case to win given they voluntarily played, knew the risks and did it anyway.

And yet smokers who sue the tobacco industry - combined with states who have filed lawsuits of their own - have won billions[/i] of dollars in court.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

And yet smokers who sue the tobacco industry - combined with states who have filed lawsuits of their own - have won billions[/i] of dollars in court.

If I recall though, the industry played down the risk and it was also politically correct to attack the tobacco companies. They were also people who PAID to use the product, not some who were PAID to play.

 

[Brian_C82]

As if any of these guys would have quit football if they knew the "real dangers" of concussions. Most of them would be bagging groceries if it weren't for the NFL.

 

[cowboy_ron]

will be difficult case to win given they voluntarily played, knew the risks and did it anyway.

Yea, Ive either heard of or read about a clause that states "assumption of risk" in these types of suits

 

[67CowboysFan]

And yet smokers who sue the tobacco industry - combined with states who have filed lawsuits of their own - have won billions[/i] of dollars in court.

I wont go into it to deep as political discussions are not allowed but the government sued and won while they have and still do collect tax dollars from the product that they sued.

 

[burmafrd]

Since it has only been in the last 10 years or so that the DOCTORS have been talking about long term effects of concusions and the like how in the world do you blame the NFL? I see all of these suits either getting kicked or coming to nothing in the end.

 

[Rogah]

If I recall though, the industry played down the risk and it was also politically correct to attack the tobacco companies. They were also people who PAID to use the product, not some who were PAID to play.

Whether they paid or were paid doesn't really matter. You said NFLers knew the risks and did it anyway, so their case will lose. The exact same thing is true for smokers, and they've won billions and billions.

The players are going to argue the NFL was negligent and didn't properly inform them of the risks associated with playing. If they can convince judge and jury of that, they'll win.

 

[skinsscalper]

And yet smokers who sue the tobacco industry - combined with states who have filed lawsuits of their own - have won billions[/i] of dollars in court.

For every smoker that wins a lawsuit, there's 1,000 who lose.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Whether they paid or were paid doesn't really matter. You said NFLers knew the risks and did it anyway, so their case will lose. The exact same thing is true for smokers, and they've won billions and billions.

The players are going to argue the NFL was negligent and didn't properly inform them of the risks associated with playing. If they can convince judge and jury of that, they'll win.

It is not the same situation. Smokers in the 1950s and 1960s did not know of all the risks.

Football players know the risks. Unless they can show the NFL deliberately downplayed the risk, told them they had to play or they woudl be canned etc, will be a tough case to win.

 

[joseephuss]

As if any of these guys would have quit football if they knew the "real dangers" of concussions. Most of them would be bagging groceries if it weren't for the NFL.

Some of them didn't do it for the money, but for the love of the game.

 

[Rogah]

For every smoker that wins a lawsuit, there's 1,000 who lose.

Do you have any sort of reference to back up that statistic? Obviously you're speaking in hyperbole (I hope), but do you have any evidence of what the true win/loss ratio actually is?

 

[Rogah]

It is not the same situation. Smokers in the 1950s and 1960s did not know of all the risks.

Except so many of the lawsuits to which I refer come from people who started smoking well after the surgeon general's warning started appearing on packs.

Football players know the risks. Unless they can show the NFL deliberately downplayed the risk, told them they had to play or they woudl be canned etc, will be a tough case to win.

You're joking, right? In the NFL, it would take about 5 seconds to prove that a player was under pressure to play and thought he might be cut if he didn't.

This isn't anywhere near as open and shut as a lot of you seem to wish it would be.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Except so many of the lawsuits to which I refer come from people who started smoking well after the surgeon general's warning started appearing on packs.
You're joking, right? In the NFL, it would take about 5 seconds to prove that a player was under pressure to play and thought he might be cut if he didn't.

This isn't anywhere near as open and shut as a lot of you seem to wish it would be.

but is the pressure from within or without?

high performance athletes want to perform all the time. Do you think Emmitt Smith wanted to sit out those games in 1999 with the broken hand? Hell no, he wanted right back in.

Romo had a bloody punctured lung and wanted back in.

The players with head injuries probably for the most part downplayed their symptoms so they would clear the tests and be able to play.

Unlike you and I who don't go to the gym because our toe is sore, these guys will play with broken legs. They are just different from us.

 

[Rogah]

but is the pressure from within or without?

high performance athletes want to perform all the time. Do you think Emmitt Smith wanted to sit out those games in 1999 with the broken hand? Hell no, he wanted right back in.

Romo had a bloody punctured lung and wanted back in.

The players with head injuries probably for the most part downplayed their symptoms so they would clear the tests and be able to play.

There are tests (which should be adminstered by independent physicians and not team personnel) which cannot be faked to determine if a player has a concussion. But neither the league nor the teams want to do such a thing.

All the "those guys knew what they were getting into" arguments get thrown out the window if the league can be shown to be negligent. And in order to show this, we need look no further than last December when Colt McCoy got absolutely blasted by James Harrison. Everybody watching that game could tell he had a concussion. So what happened? He was back in the game a few plays later. If that's not an example of gross negligence, I don't know what is.

That was one of the most irresponsible things I have ever seen in professional sports but, of course, for all the empty words of player protection, there were no consequences to the team for doing it.

 

[burmafrd]

There are tests (which should be adminstered by independent physicians and not team personnel) which cannot be faked to determine if a player has a concussion. But neither the league nor the teams want to do such a thing.

All the "those guys knew what they were getting into" arguments get thrown out the window if the league can be shown to be negligent. And in order to show this, we need look no further than last December when Colt McCoy got absolutely blasted by James Harrison. Everybody watching that game could tell he had a concussion. So what happened? He was back in the game a few plays later. If that's not an example of gross negligence, I don't know what is.

That was one of the most irresponsible things I have ever seen in professional sports but, of course, for all the empty words of player protection, there were no consequences to the team for doing it.

yeah you clearly are a doctor if you can diagnose a concusion on TV

 

[joseephuss]

yeah you clearly are a doctor if you can diagnose a concusion on TV

You didn't have to be a doctor to be able to see that Colt McCoy had a concussion. That one was obvious. Most are not.

 

[Rogah]

You didn't have to be a doctor to be able to see that Colt McCoy had a concussion. That one was obvious. Most are not.

+1. The guy took a tremendous blow to the head and went down and was unable to get up for quite some time. True I'm not a doctor, but I apparently have more common sense than some people.