Page 20 - atoday mrch 16
P. 20
20
SPORTSWednesday 16 March 2016
Continued from Page 17 and in youth programs. include young men with
Critics of the NFL’s pro-
Four Democratic mem- posed $1 billion plan to set- Parkinson’s disease or Lou
bers of the House Energy tle concussion claims call
and Commerce Commit- Miller’s sudden acknowl- Gehrig’s disease.
tee sent a letter Tuesday edgement of a football-
to NFL Commissioner Rog- CTE connection a game “We welcome the NFL’s
er Goodell, saying Miller’s changer.
comments are encourag- The settlement is being acknowledgement of
ing in that the league is appealed by players con-
willing accept the science cerned that it excludes fu- what was alleged in our
linking repetitive hits with ture cases of CTE — what
CTE. The congressmen they consider “the signa- complaint: that reports
want answers from Goodell ture disease of football.”
by March 29 on the NFL’s The deal announced by have associated football
plans to protect both cur- lead plaintiffs’ lawyers and
rent players in the league the NFL in August 2013 with findings of CTE in de-
would instead pay up to
$4 million for prior deaths ceased former players,”
involving CTE.
“Given that, the settle- lead plaintiffs’ lawyer Chris-
ment’s failure to compen-
sate present and future topher Seeger said in a
CTE is inexcusable,” lawyer
Steven Molo wrote Tuesday statement. “The settlement
in a letter to the federal ap-
peals court in Philadelphia achieves that, providing
that is hearing his appeal.
The court heard arguments immediate care to the
in November on the fair-
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Korbinian Holzer brawls with New ness of the settlement and sickest retired players and
Jersey Devils center Joseph Blandisi during the first period of an was expected to issue an
NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Monday, March 14, 2016. opinion in the high-stakes long-term security over the
case soon. The NFL and
lead plaintiffs’ lawyers next 65 years for those who
have said they do not want
to incentivize suicide by of- are healthy now but devel-
fering future payments. CTE
cannot yet be diagnosed op a qualifying condition in
in the living.
The settlement would re- the future.”
solve thousands of law-
suits and cover more than Chris Nowinski, a former
20,000 NFL retirees for the
next 65 years. The league professional wrestler who
estimates that 6,000 former
players — nearly three in 10 runs the Concussion Lega-
— could develop Alzheim-
er’s disease or moderate cy Foundation, noted that
dementia.
They would receive an av- millions of children still play
erage of $190,000, though
the awards could reach tackle football despite the
several million dollars in the
most serious cases, which suspected risks. The foun-
dation seeks to study and
prevent head trauma in
athletes.
“If we actually believe that
football is linked to CTE
now, then how is the NFL
underwriting (youth) tackle
football when kids could
just as easily play flag and
not be exposed to the risk
of CTE at such a young
age?” he asked.
How much impact this has
on college football remains
to be seen, but a lead at-
torney in a lawsuit against
the NCAA also thinks this
marks a milestone.
“It is amazing to think back
to 2011, when we filed
the first-ever class action
against the NCAA for con-
cussions, and compare the
national conversation at
that time to what we have
now,” Chicago-based law-
yer Joseph Siprut said.q
