When I read the announcement that NFL Alumni board members had named Joe Pisarcik as its �new� executive director, I couldn�t help but think of one of Yogi Berra�s expressions, �It�s d�j� vu all over again.�
Why? Because the appointment of Pisarcik means that the same leadership is still in place � the same leadership that stood by silently when the organization failed in its responsibilities to retired players, squandered its opportunity to advance the cause of retired players, and misused millions of dollars designated for the benefit of retired players. In football, if you have a player who isn�t performing, you replace him. If you have a coach or coaches who aren�t performing, you make a change. Yet in the NFL Alumni, when you have a leadership team that fails, you allow the failed leaders to promote one of their own.
That, my friends, is unacceptable.
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More than 10,000 retired NFL players � those whom NFL Alumni purports to represent � had no voice in the process to select a new executive director. Twenty-eight chapters of NFL Alumni had no voice in the selection of their leader. Instead, the NFL Alumni board unanimously selected Pisarcik as executive director. Yet four members of the NFL Alumni Association board � Tom Baugh, Dave Carter, Carl Mauck, and Nate Wright � reportedly resigned as a result of the selection of Pisarcik. Thus, it appears only the NFL Alumni Joint Directors � Raul Allegre, Randy Minniear, Tom Nowatzke, Rod Smith, and perhaps Pisarcik himself � had a voice.
� Pisarcik�s �number one priority� will be(emphasis added) to make the NFL Alumni organization �more accountable to its membership and more relevant to the retired player community. Yet NFL Alumni�s original mission was focused on retired players. In fact, several years ago, when we made the case for one independent organization to represent retired NFL players, the NFL determined that NFL Alumni should return to its original mission of focusing on retired players� issues � a mission that had been largely abandoned in favor of golf tournaments and unrelated charities � and thus serve as the retired players� organization. We supported that decision, pushed for the organization to carry out its mission and, when it repeatedly failed to do so, advocated for another reorganization of NFL Alumni.
� Pisarcik will oversee the operations of both the NFL Alumni Association, described as the �advocacy arm of the organization that serves the retired player members and their families� and the NFL Alumni Foundation, which is identified as supporting �youth and community charities through the work of local Chapters located in cities throughout the United States.� Yet in the years since the league refocused NFL Alumni on retired players, the organization has remained silent on retired players� issues and concerns.
- When the league and the union were negotiating the Collective Bargaining Agreement, NFL Alumni�s leadership was silent.
- When 320 widows were denied the Legacy Benefit � and when one of those widows died before being included in the plan � NFL Alumni�s leaders were silent.
- When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell disciplined those who participated in a bounty system � and when, rather than support player safety, the NFLPA obtained legal counsel to represent those participants � NFL Alumni remained silent.
- When more and more players were posthumously diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, when players like Ray Easterling and Junior Seau committed suicide, when players like John Mackey and Larry Morris died after years of dementia, when research has revealed more and more about the short- and long-term ramifications of concussion and head trauma, NFL Alumni remained silent.
And all the while -- all that time -- the leaders of NFL Alumni were silent. Each and every time NFL Alumni could have -- and should have -- represented retired players, NFL Alumni's leaders remained silent.
� Pisarcik stated that he �will also work to strengthen our Caring for Kids program. Helping our local NFL Alumni Chapters and members with the work they do in their communities is what makes our organization shine.� In fact, what makes NFL Alumni shine is being true to its mission and acting and advocating on behalf of retired players. According to Randy Minniear, chairman of the NFL Alumni Association Board, �Joe understands the lifeblood of our organization � our members � and the charitable work being done at the grass roots level to positively shape the lives of children and families. He has always kept that in the forefront of his mind in all his acts and deeds.� Yet the �charitable work Minniear references came at the expense of the children and families of retired NFL players � and the retirees themselves � as the organization focused its efforts solely on children�s charities.
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Pisarcik looks forward to �leading the NFL Alumni,� says this will be a �team effort� and is �calling on former players to help us achieve all the goals we are setting for the NFL Alumni.� In my 12 years in the NFL, our �team effort� included the whole team, regardless of whether a player was a star or a backup. Every player on the team was given a scouting report and a game plan. Prior to and even during games, players had input into the plays that were called. Yet Pisarcik and NFL Alumni operated in secret, excluding team members from this �team effort�. We�re calling on him to pursue the goals, to inform us of his progress, to represent retired players, to engage retired players, to focus the organization on retired players, and to give retired players the voice we deserve.
In the announcement, Pisarcik stated, �We need to do a better job of serving, informing and assisting our fellow alumni. Also, we want to make certain that all retired players � and their families � are aware and take advantage of the programs, services and benefits available to them. Finally, we want to work with the league and the NFLPA to urge them to create new benefits that would cover some of the medical problems most often encountered by retirees after they leave the game.�
That�s what we envisioned when we supported the reconstituting of NFL Alumni more than four years ago. That�s what we encouraged, even pushed, NFL Alumni to do during both George Martin�s nearly three-year tenure as executive director and Joe Pisarcik�s 10-month term as interim executive director. And, quite frankly, that�s what we�ll continue to demand from NFL Alumni.
Over the last eight years, the Baltimore Colts� alumni and ultimately, Fourth & Goal, have pushed for assistance for John Mackey and others like him. We�ve lobbied for improved pension and disability benefits for retired players. We�ve spoken out against the bounty system that put a price on the heads of our teammates. We�ve supported the league�s efforts to enhance player safety and improve medical care for active and retired players. We brought to the forefront the exclusion of 320 widows from the Legacy Benefit and, over nearly one year, shamed the union into paying its share of the widows� benefit. We�ve served, informed, assisted, and advocated for our teammates across the nation and across the league. If we could accomplish this as a dedicated group of volunteers, surely NFL Alumni � with the NFL shield, a full-time staff and a bank account � could and should accomplish far more.
So while we look forward to hearing Joe Pisarcik�s action plan to address the issues facing retired players�the issues we�ve been addressing for eight years � and to attain the goals he�s set out � the goals Fourth & Goal has doggedly pursued for eight years � we view Pisarcik�s statements with some skepticism. Quite frankly, we wouldn�t be at all surprised to hear him claim, as Yogi Berra once did, �I really didn't say everything I said.�
That, my friends, is unacceptable.
Bruce Laird
President, Fourth & Goal
Baltimore Colts, 1972-1981
San Diego Chargers, 1982-1983
President, Fourth & Goal
Baltimore Colts, 1972-1981
San Diego Chargers, 1982-1983
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