Art Monk Sues the NFL

[midniterc]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/post/art-monk-is-lead-plaintiff-in-another-concussion-lawsuit-against-the-nfl/2012/05/10/gIQASGtOGU_blog.html

[DCRED]

Sucks. Monk was probably my favorite player. And head injuries suck when the effects are felt years even decades later.

On a side note, someone commented on that helmet pic something I noticed too, but I thought this was funny:

[turtle28]

I hope these guys get something out of these lawsuits. The NFL is not going to go broke anytime soon, it's time they start taking care their retirees correctly. Something really needs to be done about this. I hate to say it, but it will probably take Congress getting involved. I hate seeing that, because frankly, Congress has larger problems on its hands than the NFL not taking care of its retirees.
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mike23md
Days until:Minicamp 20; Training camp 64; Eagles @ Redskins 110 RIP SSF

[midniterc]

I don't like the idea of everybody and their mother suing over this issue. I'd rather see the NFL make a public effort to actually solve the problem by improving helmets or other equipment. Junior Seau should be a wake up call and an inspiration to get the top engineers in the country to develop the best protection money can buy.

[Sassan11]

This is just a bs way for these players to try to get money. Like my law teacher said you can sue anyone for anything but it doesn't mean you will win. These players know the risk of playing football and thats why they are OVER compensated for what they do. Now they just want to try and get more. They the players are the greedy ones.

[PARROTHEAD]

[midniterc]

[PARROTHEAD]

[Sassan11]

[midniterc]

[e16bball]

I'm with mid on this one.

I don't think there's any way in the world that NFL players knew the long-term risks associated with repeated head trauma in the 80s or 90s. As he said, the first time I ever heard of CTE or anything even remotely related to dementia stemming from brain damage such as concussions was when Mike Webster killed himself after his life had spun entirely out of control. It appears that the middle of the past decade was the first time the general public had any conception of the prevalence of CTE, when Dr. Omalu did the studies on the brains of guys like Webster and Andre Waters that revealed the extent of the damage.

[EDIT: I will add that there were anecdotal cases, like Muhammad Ali for example, of hits to the head causing long-term damage. However, it's tough to compare a guy who got hit in his unprotected head hundreds of times in one night to football players who take occasional hits to the head while wearing helmets. I'm not sure I would have assumed that boxers and football players were subject to the same risks --- in fact, I'm quite sure I didn't assume that, as I find the growing evidence of CTE in football players both shocking and dismaying].

Obviously, everyone knows that playing football is "dangerous," in an abstract way. You could easily suffer any number of injuries while playing such a violent game. I don't think anyone disputes that the players knew they could get hurt, and I'm sure they'd all agree they accepted the risk of musculoskeletal injuries and of things like bad backs or difficulty walking later in life as a result of their playing football. But the question is going to be whether they had accepted the significant risk that playing football was going to KILL them. I don't believe they had. And I don't believe there was any evidence available to the masses in the time of guys like Art Monk indicating that dementia, depression, brain deterioration, and premature death were major risks for professional football players.

Now, that alone doesn't mean they win. It just means the "they accepted the risk" argument should fail (in my opinion). Depending on the theory of their case, they would likely have to prove that the NFL knew (or should reasonably have known) of a specific risk associated with repeated head traumas suffered while playing football and negligently (or intentionally) failed to sufficiently warn and/or protect its players.

To prove that, they'll need something like the internal memos from the tobacco companies that absolutely destroyed their claim that they didn't know nicotine was addictive or that they didn't know cigarettes caused cancer. In this case, it would be something like an internal study performed by the NFL revealing the prevalence of CTE-like results in former players or a report from a league doctor that there is a very real risk of long-term damage. Does such a thing exist? I don't know, and it's really the crux of the issue. But if it does, the NFL should be ashamed. And they should be absolutely lit up for massive damages in a suit.
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O.J. Atogwe Tracker: 25 Tackles | 1 INT | 2 PDs | 2 TFLs | 1 sack
Saverio Rocca Tracker: 44.2 AVG | 41.2 NET | 14/25 IN20

[e16bball]

One other thing I'll add is that there should have to be actual damages --- like demonstrable physical effects related to CTE or other brain trauma related afflictions --- in order for an individual player to collect. The fact that someone is negligent towards you doesn't mean you get to successfully sue them unless you suffer some sort of damage first.

And the sad thing about that is that it means there's probably a decent and real chance that Art Monk is suffering some sort of concussion-related symptoms. As Redskins fans, we've been pretty fortunate to avoid the tragedy of this particular problem so far. Imagine losing someone like Art Monk at such a young age, like the Steelers did with Webster or the Chargers have just done with Seau. I'd be distraught.
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O.J. Atogwe Tracker: 25 Tackles | 1 INT | 2 PDs | 2 TFLs | 1 sack
Saverio Rocca Tracker: 44.2 AVG | 41.2 NET | 14/25 IN20

[midniterc]

[Sassan11]

One other thing I would like to point out is that if I understand correctly that these players wouldn't have played football had they known the risk (because if thats not the case then they really shouldn't have a case) is that look at players today with all the new information and awareness of the risk of concussions how many players have decided ok i'm no longer playing football its not worth it. Everyone is still playing knowing the risk. The fact is the money they get paid makes it worth it no matter what they say later in their lives.

Maybe later in life they might say it wasn't worth it but while they are playing nobody is saying its not worth it and you can't go back and blame the nfl for your choice to continue to play.

[PARROTHEAD]