by Ashley Fox
Philadelphia Inquirer
Sat, Feb. 03, 2007
MIAMI - There is no question that Troy Vincent is one of the good guys in the National Football League. He is president of the players' association, is smart, savvy, a tough defensive back and a charming, well-spoken advocate for player issues.
But when he sat next to Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the players' association, on Thursday and defended the current players' lack of sympathy for the ailing retired players, Vincent sounded cold and heartless.
One of the big issues at the Super Bowl this week has been the help - or lack thereof - afforded the men who played the game before proper safety and high salaries became the norm. There are many men who are suffering because they played professional football in an age when aspirin was used to treat concussions and helmets had about as much cushion as a piece of steel.
Some former players can barely walk. Others suffer from dementia. Some are homeless. Others can't pay their bills. Many are too proud, or too ashamed, to ask for help, and the help that is available is inadequate.
Monthly pension payments, in many instances, wouldn't cover groceries for a few days, much less medicine, doctors' bills or physical or mental therapies.
The NFL is richer, more powerful and more popular than it has ever been, and yet the forefathers of the game have been kicked outside the periphery. It is an ugly reality.
On Thursday, Vincent said he was "at the pulse" of the issue between retired and active players, and said it was "a major concern" of the union's. But he bemoaned the retired players' tactics at improving their situation. Vincent said that he hears about it from coaches on the sidelines during games or when he runs into a former player at an airport. It's always the same, Vincent said: The retired players want more money, while the active players would like a little help - advice, perspective, whatever you'd like to call it - from the men who preceded them.
"The only thing we hear about is the economics," Vincent said. "We can't please everybody."
But according to Jerry Kramer, the former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman from 1958 to 1968, not many former players are pleased at all. Herb Adderley, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, receives just $126.85 per month from his NFL pension. Hall of Famer Willie Wood is in an assisted-living facility, and without the help of Mike Ditka and others, he couldn't afford the care.
Kramer started the Gridiron Greats Assistance Program to help players in need and recruited Ditka to help raise money, an effort that includes an ongoing memorabilia auction at jerrykramer.com.
"The thing that's been making my heart ache," Kramer said, "is some of my teammates and warriors are having a hard time."
Said Ditka: "The guys today who play the game are not the makers of the game. They are the keepers of the game."
The pension and disability issues facing the league are confusing and not easily solved. Upshaw said it would take $800 million annually to elevate the former players' pensions to the active players' level.
But Ditka isn't asking for that type of contribution. In fact, he sent a letter to the 32 NFL team owners, asking for a $100,000 donation from each. He said he got one check for $10,000, and one for $5,000. Ditka sent each back in disgust.
"It just doesn't make a lot of sense," Ditka said. "If we can't help them, then nobody will. ... It's embarrassing."
During his inaugural Super Bowl news conference on Friday, new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he was "concerned any time you see one of our former players, and the men that helped make this game great, have the medical issues that they're having."
There isn't an easy solution.
"It's not good for the NFL to see that kind of an image with our players having the medical problems they have, and I think we need to address that," Goodell said. "I think we have to do it intelligently and thoughtfully."
How to do it remains the big question. Donations? Increased pensions or disability payments? Case-by-case assistance? There must be an answer. It won't be easy, but something has to change.
Vincent is smart enough to know that.
"I've played 15 years, so I've helped build the game, too," he said. "There's not much that we can do."
Philadelphia Inquirer
Sat, Feb. 03, 2007
MIAMI - There is no question that Troy Vincent is one of the good guys in the National Football League. He is president of the players' association, is smart, savvy, a tough defensive back and a charming, well-spoken advocate for player issues.
But when he sat next to Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the players' association, on Thursday and defended the current players' lack of sympathy for the ailing retired players, Vincent sounded cold and heartless.
One of the big issues at the Super Bowl this week has been the help - or lack thereof - afforded the men who played the game before proper safety and high salaries became the norm. There are many men who are suffering because they played professional football in an age when aspirin was used to treat concussions and helmets had about as much cushion as a piece of steel.
Some former players can barely walk. Others suffer from dementia. Some are homeless. Others can't pay their bills. Many are too proud, or too ashamed, to ask for help, and the help that is available is inadequate.
Monthly pension payments, in many instances, wouldn't cover groceries for a few days, much less medicine, doctors' bills or physical or mental therapies.
The NFL is richer, more powerful and more popular than it has ever been, and yet the forefathers of the game have been kicked outside the periphery. It is an ugly reality.
On Thursday, Vincent said he was "at the pulse" of the issue between retired and active players, and said it was "a major concern" of the union's. But he bemoaned the retired players' tactics at improving their situation. Vincent said that he hears about it from coaches on the sidelines during games or when he runs into a former player at an airport. It's always the same, Vincent said: The retired players want more money, while the active players would like a little help - advice, perspective, whatever you'd like to call it - from the men who preceded them.
"The only thing we hear about is the economics," Vincent said. "We can't please everybody."
But according to Jerry Kramer, the former Green Bay Packers offensive lineman from 1958 to 1968, not many former players are pleased at all. Herb Adderley, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, receives just $126.85 per month from his NFL pension. Hall of Famer Willie Wood is in an assisted-living facility, and without the help of Mike Ditka and others, he couldn't afford the care.
Kramer started the Gridiron Greats Assistance Program to help players in need and recruited Ditka to help raise money, an effort that includes an ongoing memorabilia auction at jerrykramer.com.
"The thing that's been making my heart ache," Kramer said, "is some of my teammates and warriors are having a hard time."
Said Ditka: "The guys today who play the game are not the makers of the game. They are the keepers of the game."
The pension and disability issues facing the league are confusing and not easily solved. Upshaw said it would take $800 million annually to elevate the former players' pensions to the active players' level.
But Ditka isn't asking for that type of contribution. In fact, he sent a letter to the 32 NFL team owners, asking for a $100,000 donation from each. He said he got one check for $10,000, and one for $5,000. Ditka sent each back in disgust.
"It just doesn't make a lot of sense," Ditka said. "If we can't help them, then nobody will. ... It's embarrassing."
During his inaugural Super Bowl news conference on Friday, new NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he was "concerned any time you see one of our former players, and the men that helped make this game great, have the medical issues that they're having."
There isn't an easy solution.
"It's not good for the NFL to see that kind of an image with our players having the medical problems they have, and I think we need to address that," Goodell said. "I think we have to do it intelligently and thoughtfully."
How to do it remains the big question. Donations? Increased pensions or disability payments? Case-by-case assistance? There must be an answer. It won't be easy, but something has to change.
Vincent is smart enough to know that.
"I've played 15 years, so I've helped build the game, too," he said. "There's not much that we can do."
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