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Shawn Wooden (second from left) and our legal team
“Friends told me that you’re going to put yourself out there — you’re not going to appease 100 percent of the people at the end of the day. But I felt strongly that I was a good representative for the class I was representing and that I could help. It’s always, always about helping my fellow teammates. I call them my brothers.” - Shawn Wooden, Class Rep in the NFL Concussion Litigation and Settlement
As one of the lead plaintiff’s in the NFL Concussion Lawsuit, Shawn Wooden has had to listen to the complaints of former players that are not happy with the settlement and in some cases have decided to appeal. Here is a link to a NY Times article about Shawn: An Ex-Player at the center of the NFL Concussion Settlement dispute.
Like a lot of former players, Shawn knows that he probably won’t be getting an award from the settlement anytime soon. At the same time, he knows that there is a good chance he could develop dementia sometime in the future. Remember, we are much more likely than the general population to develop dementia, ALS, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Shawn looks at the Concussion Settlement as a type of insurance policy that will be there for the next 65 years for all former players that did not opt out. But he’s concerned – like many of us are - that that the appeals will drag on and that even if the appeals court judges reject these and other appeals, the objectors could appeal further, perhaps asking for a review by the entire court. “No one wants to wait another six months, another year,” he said. “We’ve come this far; let’s take it that extra yard to get over the goal line.”
In addition to the monetary awards, the sooner the Settlement is approved, the sooner we can start getting baseline cognitive assessments, medical monitoring, treatment and prescription drugs for the guys that don’t quite meet the level of cognitive impairment that would qualify for an award right now.
In a previous article, I mentioned that there is new research showing that a specific drug can be helpful in delaying dementia and Alzheimer’s disease - if the symptoms are detected early enough. That’s another reason why this Settlement is so important. Many players cannot afford the cost of getting assessed and diagnosed, but under the agreement the NFL will cover all of the costs – and the sooner dementia is detected, the better chance there is of slowing it down.
No matter what happens with the appeals, there is one thing that all former players can be proud of knowing - we took on the NFL and forced them to do something they never would have done on their own. In doing so, we made the game safer for current and future generations of NFL players! I hope the NFL and NFLPA remember that when they negotiate future collective bargaining agreements.
Even though we will never take all the injuries out of the game, our advocacy and relentless pursuit of justice have forced both the NFL and the NFLPA to change the way they do business.
New rules have been instituted to prevent injuries; hitting in practice has been reduced; certain pads are now mandatory; dispensing of certain drugs are now under closer scrutiny and concussion protocols have been established.
The NFL is now pouring millions of dollars into researching new technologies that will make equipment better, detect brain injuries better, make fields safer, improve the medical management of concussions and many other initiatives that will make the game safer. You can check out all the new and innovative things they are doing under the Head and Health Challenge.
This doesn’t absolve the NFL for what they did, or didn’t do, back when we played…….but it’s a start.
I don’t think any of this would be happening now if it were not for the strong voices and courage of former players.
Give yourselves a pat on the back for a job well done.
