They are fighting forthose who no longer can stand up for themselves.
They are the wives of retired pro football players, and they are on the front lines of a battle being waged between the National Football League and the NFL Players Association ? a battle where improved benefits for retirees dealing with severe health issues hang in the balance.
Sylvia Mackey took up the cause after her husband, Hall of Fame Baltimore Colts tight end John Mackey, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Her persistence helped pave the way for the “88 Plan,” named in honor of her husband?s number, which provides aid for retired players dealing with dementia and Alzheimer?s.
Sylvia Mackey provides constant care for her husband, a former NFLPA president and one of the most feared players at his position during his 10-year career. He can no longer stay by himself, has wandered away in the past and has trouble with his short-term memory.
“Something needed to be done,” Mackey said. “There are so many families of retired players going through similar situations.”
Over the past year, the NFL and NFLPA have announced plans to improve pensions and provide financial assistance for players needing joint replacements. They have created an alliance to help retirees gain assistance and get through the league?s cumbersome disability benefits process.
For many retired players, these moves are just a start. For others, it comes too late. Hall of Fame Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas died five years ago, barely able to use his crippled right hand due to injuries suffered during his 17-year NFL career. He couldn?t even write with a pen or swing a golf club without having them strapped to his hand. Still, the league denied his disability request, because he was already receiving retirement benefits and was deemed by the NFL to be fit to work.
Sandra Unitas, Johnny?s wife, says she feels a sense of responsibility to continue thepush for further reforms as a way of keeping her husband?s memory alive. She took her cause to Washington this summer to speak on behalf of the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit created to help retired players.
She also credits groups like the Baltimore Football Club Inc., headed by former Colts Bruce Laird and Tom Matte, for keeping the fight against the NFL going.
“John and many of the other older guys began the fight, and these young guys are continuing it,” Unitas said. “We need to keep going. I wouldn?t have it any other way. This is John?s legacy, and I will help fight for this cause in his name for the rest of my life.”
Any progress made today is also too late for Ralph Heywood and his wife, Suzie. Ralph Heywood died at 85 in April from Alzheimer?s. The only NFL player to fight in three wars, Heywood and his wife had to sell their home and live in a horse trailer because of his expensive medical care.
“I?m not asking for anything,” Suzie Heywood said. “I just want to make sure what happened to me doesn?t happen to anyone else.”
“These wives took care of their husbands when they needed them, but who will take care of them now?” Matte asked. “The NFL hasn?t done enough, so it?s up to us to help those who helped make the NFL the multibillion-dollar business it is today.”
