Dave Pear wishes he had never played football

Another example of how former NFL players are getting the shaft from the league.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jeff_pearlman/12/18/pear/index.html

 

Nice job by Jeff Pearlman.

 

Amen. It's a crime the way the NFL chews up and spits out 90 percent of these guys.

 

Yeah, it's sad. But I don't think a single NFL player has ever been forced into the life. They all go to college, they could actually get their degree and go into a different line of work.

If you don't understand by the time that you're 20 that football is a game that carries risk of injury, well ...

 

He applied again in 1995, under a new provision that stated players would be compensated should they properly prove their injuries were permanently debilitating. A league-appointed physician examined Pear and filed a report stating that a man who once bench pressed 500 pounds could no longer sit, stand or bend for prolonged time periods.

To Pear's shock and dismay, benefits were again denied. . . .

this isn't about whether or not they players knew what they were getting into . . . this is about a league making a shit-ton of money, year after year, shitting on it's former players who are obviously suffering today because of what happened on the field when they played. The league is responsible for something here. If they would have made half a jesture before now, I don't think this is an issue, but they didn't.

 

It is also about teams, and team physicians in particular, putting a higher priority on the health of the players. The way NFL teams have handled concussions over the years is a disgrace. The league is starting to get the message, but there is still a long way to go.

 

These guys remind me of ROTC students who enlist for the money than are angry when when they are called up.

 

I should have quoted the post I was responding to to make it more clear. I was mostly responding to fishhack's comment:

Otherwise, I certainly agree on the principle that the league and -- more important -- the Player's Association not only need to do more for these guys, they need to do MUCH, MUCH more.

 

ROTC students have doctors lying to them and saying they are fine when they shouldn't be participating?