Bruce Laird, a former safety for the Baltimore Colts, praised the Ravens? Matt Stover for urging players to sack Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association. But the Tennessee Titans? Kevin Mawae, NFLPA president, said the Baltimore kicker should put his talented foot in his mouth.
Laird, who is a staunch advocate for the NFL providing better benefits to its former players, was surprised Stover wants to replace the man who was instrumental in gaining players multi-million dollar contracts and comprehensive medical benefits.
“Matt is not looking at just the next two years, but 10 to 15 years down the road,” Laird said. “The fact of the matter is only a small portion of today?s players receive the large signing bonuses and the rest are working on year-to-year contracts. So, many of these players could face issues similar to ours if they are not careful.”
Mawae, however, said the union is committed to Upshaw, 63, a Hall of Famer who stated last week he was willing to defy the mandated age for retirement of 65 until there was a qualified successor.
“Matt Stover?s letter does not reflect the view of the entire executive committee or the board of player representatives,” Mawae said regarding Stover?s e-mail to every representative of the NFLPA on Tuesday. “The board is in the process of preparing for the possibility of a work stoppage [in 2010] and understands the importance of having Gene, with his experience and history, lead the direction of the NFLPA.”
Coincidentally, Stover?s proposed ousting became public a day before the release of a 144-page congressional report, which recommended legislation to address the health problems faced by professional football players. The report concludes NFL players are eight times more likely to get injured than any other commercial sports league, the NFL and NFLPA failed to compile data on players who retire due to injuries and the league?s health and benefits system is filled with conflicts of interest and appears to be detrimental to players.
“We?ve seen some progress, but we?ll have to see if these changes really help players in need,” said former Dallas Cowboys fullback Darryl Johnston, who retired in 1999 due to neck injuries. “This congressional response proves to us that the current system is flawed and needs to be changed.”
