It is not a secret, the National Football League is not for the feint of heart. It is rough and it tough and it a sure fire way for a person to destroy their body. Yet for all of the knowledge, to some it’s just a part of the game they love. To the NFL, it’s an unavoidable aspect of making money. Though player safety has become a hot button issue the past year or so, those who played a decade or more ago are holding the NFL responsible for their deteriorating health conditions.
Eight former players —Richard Dent, Jim McMahon, Jeremy Newberry, Roy Green, J.D. Hill, Keith Van Horne, Ron Stone, and Ron Pritchard—are suing the NFL in a class-action lawsuit, claiming that they were supplied painkillers on a regular basis by their teams. They claim that they were practically force fed drugs which led to health conditions including diseased kidneys and addiction later on in their lives. The players argue that the NFL supplied the illegally prescribed drugs purely for monetary reasons, and didn’t allow players to properly heal and rest. In addition, they were lied to about the possible negative side affects from taking said drugs.
There are now 500 additional players who have signed onto the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. When reached for comment, an NFL representative stated that at this time the NFL has not had the opportunity to review the lawsuit. It will be the second class-action lawsuit against the NFL in as many years. The NFL settled another lawsuit over lies about the effects of concussions in August 2013. The NFL paid $765 million, though the figure is not nearly close enough to what they should have paid. It’s taken the NFL a long time to learn that their players are real people. They need to be held accountable for their actions and lawsuits such as these are a sure good way to do it.
Photo: Courtesey of Fuison
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