By MIKE NADEL
GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
http://www.sj-r.com/sections/sports/stories/116781.asp
Published Friday, June 15, 2007
Tank Johnson and the Chicago Bears could provide badly needed knee and hip replacements for broken-down former NFL players.
Web extra: Read more on Nadel's blog
Pacman Jones and the Tennessee Titans could fund a lifetime of medications and treatments for dozens of depressed, demented, disabled and diseased ex-pros.
And the misbehaving Cincinnati Bengals, well, they pretty much could solve every problem facing every retired player.
That�s right: Let the miscreants, felons, jerks and incorrigibles - the guys suspended by the NFL�s new sheriff in town, commissioner Roger Goodell - pay for the medical care needed by those who helped make today�s players and owners filthy rich.
That�s not a complete solution to problems that have come to light in recent days, but this suggestion certainly is more worthwhile than Mike Ditka waging verbal war with Dave Duerson and the union head threatening to break a critic�s neck.
Former players, many of whom are hurting physically, emotionally and financially from years spent banging heads in the line of NFL duty, want more support, better health benefits and more respect. And they want to apply for help without wading through oceans of bureaucracy and climbing mountains of paperwork.
The NFL Players Association, headed by Gene Upshaw and represented by trustees such as Duerson, contends it is doing everything possible to take care of needy retired players.
Unable to resist a spot on a soapbox, politicians also are getting involved, with a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing scheduled for June 26.
They�ll have to fight for soapbox space with Ditka. He is championing the retirees� cause and his work seems noble, though everybody doesn�t see it that way.
Duerson, who played for Da Bears when Iron Mike was Da Coach, says hypocrite Ditka sure didn�t care about injured players during his coaching days.
If Duerson is right - and I have no reason to doubt him - it means Ditka was guilty of little more than being a typical coach. Every coach in every sport at every level plays the healthy guys and pressures the unhealthy guys to get healthy lest they lose their jobs. Ditka�s out of that environment now, so his perspective likely has changed.
Duerson and Ditka went on ESPN Radio the other day and shouted each other down. Entertaining stuff, sure, but it does nothing for the ex-players who literally gave their lives to the league and now, in their hour of need, get too little in return.
Ex-players and their families tell sad tales of twisted limbs, broken backs, emotional distress and financial need, and it�s impossible not to feel sympathetic. Yes, they knew they were in a violent profession, but it�s doubtful they expected a future of wheelchairs and memory loss.
They need help, and there obviously is plenty of money to go around.
Today�s NFL is the richest league in the history of American sports. Thanks to television rights, revenue sharing and other factors, owners are loaded.
Meanwhile, how many houses, cars and medallions the size of Rhode Island can the players buy?
The retirees, who sacrificed so much to make the NFL what it has become, deserve respect and care. Pushed by their union, today�s jocks need to give more, but it shouldn�t stop there. The owners should give more, too.
Here�s where my suggestion comes in - not as a replacement for the current system but as an additional source of money specifically earmarked for the cause.
In his effort to clean up Dodge, Sheriff Goodell is on a suspension spree. So what happens to the money the suspended convicts and louses are forfeiting?
An NFL spokesman told me Thursday the cash simply stays in the owners� pockets. As if they�re not getting rich enough from personal seat licenses in taxpayer-financed stadiums, the owners actually get richer when their players misbehave enough to get suspended.
Didn�t Sheriff Goodell say he wanted teams to think twice before drafting, signing or trading for bad actors? Didn�t he say such teams deserve punishment when those players act badly?
Well, my solution would put suspended players� salaries directly into a fund for needy retirees - not into another yacht for the owners.
Heck, at the rate NFL hoodlums are breaking laws, the ex-players soon would be soaking their aching bodies in solid-gold Jacuzzis!
And for God�s sake, make it easier for these poor souls and their families to apply for benefits. Many of them can�t even walk, so why should they have to jump through hoops to get money for X-rays and prescriptions?
Common sense and compassion might not be as sexy as a Ditka-Duerson feud or Upshaw threatening physical violence against former All-Pro Joe DeLamielleure.
But rational thinking and kindness might actually get something done to fix the problem.
Mike Nadel (mikenadel@sbcglobal.net) is the Chicago sports columnist for GateHouse News Service. Read his blog, The Baldest Truth, at www.thebaldesttruth.com.
Reader Comments - 2 comments
Lewis wrote at 6/15/2007 8:31:53 AM
Most excellent idea !
What?! wrote at 6/15/2007 8:32:29 AM
Owners keep the fines??? Nadel actually has a good idea. At the very least, the fines should be going to NFL charities or something worthy.
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