In the latest step toward improving ways of identifying and aiding retired professional football players who need assistance, the NFL and its related organizations have agreed to form an alliance to coordinate such programs.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made the announcement during a league meeting in Nashville last Tuesday that the league, the NFL Players Association, NFL Retired Players Association, NFL Alumni Association, NFL Charities and the Pro Football Hall of Fame will communicate with one another to help provide medical services to former players.
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“All of us in the NFL want to help former players that now find themselves in need of medical care through no fault of their own,” Goodell said in a statement. “Several NFL-related groups have been working independently over the years to provide medical assistance, but now we will work together to identify and help players more effectively in a common effort.”
NFL executive vice president Harold Henderson will head up this new initiative, Goodell added.
For former players like retired Baltimore Colts Bruce Laird and Tom Matte, Goodell’s announcement is confirmation that the league is finally starting to pay attention to the plight of many former players. Laird and Matte are among the most outspoken on how many of these retirees have been ignored by the NFL and the union for years.
Laird said he’s happy with the move but added that he finds it interesting the commissioner is taking the lead on this issue after years of being told it was up to the union, including executive director Gene Upshaw, to come up with improvements.
“In baseball terms, we’ve hit a single and got on base, and now it’s time to find a way to drive this issue home,” Laird said. “I just find it compelling that the league found it necessary to takethis issue over. To me, it shows that the NFL has no faith in Gene Upshaw to deal with this properly.”
That’s not the case, according to NFLPA director of communications Carl Francis. He said the move is just a way to improve programs already in place.
“We all have to work together to help those in need,” Francis said. “It takes a collective effort. We have always tried to keep the lines of communications open so we can find out who may need help, because a lot of players don’t necessarily keep in touch with the players association after their careers are over.”
The announcement also comes at a time when a number of active players are working hard to help those in need. Among those are Matt Stover, the Ravens’ kicker and player representative. Stover’s teammate, linebacker Bart Scott, is pleased progress is being made.
“I mean, wow, these guys laid the foundation,” Scott said. “It’s because of these guys that I am able sit here and make the type of living that I make. I feel bad for those guys [and] anybody who’s bled for this game and for this league who is doing bad now. Because a lot of those guys are Hall of Famers and great players who put a lot on the line for us and pushed this league when it wasn’t the most popular league in the country, I hope that we can get something done to assist those guys in whatever way we can.”
HELPING THOSE IN NEED
Among the ideas being discussed in this new initiative are:
» Improving the system and overall efficiency in identifying those players in need.
» Developing arrangements with medical facilities throughout the country where former players can get affordable, quality care.
» Collaborating with service groups to educate players on obtaining affordable medical care to hopes of expanding access for retired players.
» Helping retired players find reasonable, affordable assisted living facilities if needed.
? Staff writer Matt Palmer contributed to this story
