Congress invokes antitrust

Charlotte Observer
Tue, Jun. 24, 2008

By Charles Chandler

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), who chairs the House subcommittee probing the concerns of NFL retirees, says she isn't satisfied the league and union have done enough to assist former players and that she would “absolutely” support threatening removal of the league's antitrust exemption if necessary to spur action.

“That is sort of the big issue the NFL and NFLPA clearly care most about,” Sanchez told the Observer in a telephone interview. “If they want this exemption to continue, from my perspective, we want to see them address these concerns that their disabled and retired players have.”

Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have criticized the league and union's treatment of retired players, but Sanchez is the first Congressperson to publicly link action on retiree issues to the league's antitrust exemption.

The antitrust exemption is contained in two pieces of federal legislation passed during the 1960s. One allows the NFL to negotiate national television contracts for all of its teams and to regionalize broadcasts. The other protects the league from antitrust lawsuits related to the NFL-American Football League merger of 1970.

Sanchez also said she might ask Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw to testify before the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, which she chairs.

She said she was disappointed neither Goodell nor Upshaw appeared at the subcommittee's hearing last June on retired players' concerns. Both, however, testified in September at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the subject.

NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello said the league has “made it clear that (helping retired players) is an important ongoing priority that we will continue to address.”

Aiello e-mailed the Observer a list of 20 improvements the league and union jointly have made in response to the needs of retired players.

The changes include establishing a plan to simplify the disability claims process and helping former players get joint replacements, expanded health screenings, prescription drug discounts and greater benefits for those suffering from dementia.

Upshaw didn't reply to the Observer's request for his reaction to Sanchez's comments.

Sanchez said Congress is prepared to introduce legislation if necessary to address such issues as the makeup of the committee that approves or denies disability claims; selection of doctors who can determine disability; and developing a system to eliminate “doctor shopping” for a favorable ruling by the league or union.

“We're trying to see if the NFL and NFLPA can address (the) problems,” she said. “If they're interested in doing it, we want to see if they actually take action. If they don't, Congress may revisit that and step in and try to level the playing field for these players.

“It's clear to me that these players put their hearts into the game. They make the league and the owners and, yes, even Gene Upshaw, a lot of money. But when they are injured or retire, they have such a difficulty in accessing benefits and such difficulty in the private sector purchasing them.

“It really is something the NFL and NFLPA should be ashamed of.”

Federal papers reveal shredding

Charlotte Observer
Tue, Jun. 24, 2008

By Charles Chandler

The NFL Players Association spent more than $12,000 on document shredding last fiscal year, according to recent federal disclosures.

The NFLPA is required to make annual financial filings with the U.S. Department of Labor and on May28 turned in its report for the period covering March 1, 2007 to Feb.29, 2008. It showed that the players' union paid $12,461 for document shredding to Office Shredders, an Elkridge, Md., company.

The NFLPA moved its Washington offices four-tenths of a mile, from 2021 L Street NW to 1133 20th Street NW, last year. According to industry experts, it is not unusual for a company to purge documents as part of a move.

The union is under intense scrutiny for its treatment of retired players, especially those with financial problems and physical disabilities.

The U.S. Senate and House held hearings last year about the plight of retired players amid their claims that the NFL's disability system is corrupt. Congressional oversight of the issue is ongoing.

The NFLPA and its for-profit subsidiary, Players Inc., also are the subject of a legal battle with a group of retired players. A lawsuit filed by Bernie Parrish, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, and others sought extensive document discovery from the union.

NFLPA executive Gene Upshaw reacted sharply to the Observer's e-mailed questions about the document shredding.

“Your knowingly malicious attempt to link the routine practice of protecting the confidentiality of financial and other proprietary business records (a practice that every prudent business follows) with ongoing litigation and Congressional oversight hearings is libelous,” Upshaw wrote in an e-mail Friday afternoon.

About an hour after receiving his response, the Observer asked Upshaw via e-mail if the NFLPA kept a record of what documents were shredded and, if so, if the union would provide a copy of the record to the newspaper.

Upshaw did not respond to that e-mail, or to e-mail and voice mail messages left Saturday and Monday at his office.

The owner of Office Shredders, John Kane, declined to speak to the Observer and, through an office assistant, referred all questions to the NFLPA.

Office Shredders is a division of a company, also owned by Kane, that was paid $59,897 by the NFLPA for relocation services last year, according to the federal filing.

Representatives from two document shredding companies, one in Charlotte and the other in Washington, told the Observer that pricing methods for paper destruction vary, but a commonly used rate for large jobs is 10 cents per pound.

At that rate, the amount paid by the NFLPA to Office Shredders would equal 124,610 pounds, more than 62 tons.

The Observer calculated how much that would be if all the paper were standard 8.5-by-11-inch copy paper and discovered the stack would have been 4.8 times the height of the Bank of America tower, Charlotte's tallest building at 875 feet.

David Wright, owner and general manager of Proshred in Charlotte, said most shredding companies have about two or three jobs a year the size of the one done for the NFLPA.

“In our experience, it tends to be a company that has no ongoing purging calendar for their record retention process,” Wright said.

The union's annual reports for fiscal 2006 and 2007, filed after the Labor Department began requiring unions to make detailed accounting of receipts and disbursements, did not list any expenses for paper shredding.

Carolina Panthers NFLPA player representative Jason Kyle said he wasn't aware of the document shredding but said it didn't strike him as unusual.

“I don't know what we spent cleaning out the toilets, either,” said Kyle, who was elected by teammates to serve as their primary representative to the players' union.

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) said the NFLPA surrendered most of the documents requested by the House subcommittee – which she chairs – that held an oversight hearing last summer regarding the NFL disability system.

“I'm not really in a position to say that I can really make anything of the amount of money they spent on shredding documents, or what documents they might have been shredding,” Sanchez said. “I don't really have a sense as to why, or what they might have been trying to get rid of.

“All I can really say about the matter (of) the NFLPA (is) I have not really been impressed with their past lack of advocacy for retired players.”

Parrish declined to comment on the document shredding and referred questions to his attorney, Ron Katz of Palo Alto, Calif.

Katz said he has received numerous discovery documents from the NFLPA in the Parrish case and that the union has resisted providing certain papers. For example, he said the union resisted providing documents related to Upshaw's income and that the judge in the case sided with the union.

“Obviously, you don't know what they haven't produced,” Katz said. “We have no way of knowing. I can't say whether they have or haven't (provided all required documents in the case). They've told me they have, and we have no independent reason to believe they haven't.

“It strikes me that it would be normal to get rid of documents when you move. We have to go by the integrity of their lawyers, and I have no reason to question the integrity of their lawyers.

“They are officers of the court, just like me, and (document discovery) is done on the honor system.”

Katz said the case is under a judge's protective order, requested by the NFLPA. As a result, he said, certain documents are for attorneys' eyes only and he cannot show them to Parrish or other retired players involved in the case.

Matt Stover's letter to members of the NFL Players Association

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Executive committee and reps,

After the conference call on Wednesday, April 4th, I believe that the NFLPA is ready to begin a national search process to find a new Executive Director. As you are completely aware of our election process, Gene's contractual situation, and our looming battles against the owners in the coming years, I feel that the Board must begin to prepare for a change in leadership immediately. I believe we have the proper environment with our teammates and leadership within the board to execute the process of this selection. To be "Open and Transparent" is critical for the body to back our possible selection, as well as our outside critics.

I want to make this clear: I have no personal agenda as I would hope everyone else would as well. I only want what is best for the Union and our teammates and my intentions are to establish a healthy leadership for years to come. I believe that whoever the candidate would end up being has the opportunity to gain valuable insight and experience to lead future generations of players.

With that being said, I would suggest to the Executive Committee to:

1. Form a sub-committee (3-5 members) to lead the process. The members should have the time and resources to fully commit to this all-important process.

2. Use Board Designated Funds to hire an outside consultant, Executive Head Hunter or Search Firm to aid in the collection of candidates from both the outside and within the NFL world.

3. Form a list of 8-10 candidates by no later than the start of training camp.

4. Use any means necessary (personal meetings in home cities or another city or teleconference) to interview candidates, with completion by the end of the 2008 football season.

5. Form a final list of 3 candidates by Jan. 1, 2009 that will be interviewed by the entire Executive Board from Jan. 1-Feb. 15 (6 weeks to interview 3 candidates again, by any means).

6. The entire Executive Committee select 1 candidate to be recommended to the Board of Reps. at the 2009 March NFLPA meeting.

As I recommend this process, I fully realize this is just 1 man. However, I was on that conference call and I am not the only Rep. who listened and felt that it is time for a change. As I make this suggestion, I will only hope that every one of us will put any personal agenda aside and remember who each of us represent. Both the old and young players in our locker rooms have voted us in because they trust our judgment. This is about the future of our organization. Not now ... not 1 or 2 years from now, but 5, 10, 15 years from now. Thanks.

-- Matt Stover

Stover e-mail shows plan to find successor to NFLPA boss Upshaw

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

By Chris Mortensen
ESPN.com

An effort to oust Gene Upshaw as the NFL Players Association Executive Director became evident Monday, when veteran Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover e-mailed a plan to fellow player representatives to have a new union boss in place by March 2009.

In his e-mail, a copy of which has been obtained by ESPN, Stover revealed a conference call among player reps on Friday in which he said, "I was on that conference call and I am not the only rep who listened and felt that it is time for a change."

Upshaw said Tuesday morning that he was aware of Stover's e-mail but read it for the first time when ESPN forwarded him a copy. Upshaw's contract runs through 2010, but he said Tuesday he told player representatives at their annual meeting in Maui in March that with a looming labor confrontation with NFL owners, "I would never leave until this deal is done."

Tuesday, Upshaw said, "Obviously, there's a group that feels we need to have a change now." As for Stover's e-mail, Upshaw said Tuesday: "Matt Stover has no clue. Whoever is pulling his chain is doing a disservice to the union. I could understand the idea that they need to get rid of me if I wasn't doing a good job but, shoot, the owners are mad because they think I've done too good of a job."

Upshaw confirmed that hints of a movement ultimately to change the union leadership were in play at the March meetings in Maui. An effort by one coalition of players to get Philadelphia Eagles safety Brian Dawkins elected as the new NFL Players Association president fell short when Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae was voted as its new active-players leader, according to player sources. Mawae is believed to be a supporter of Upshaw.

Dawkins had the backing of former NFLPA president Troy Vincent, who was no longer eligible for the position because he was not an active player. Several player sources have said Vincent is regarded as a political force within the ranks of the players and desires to replace Upshaw one day.

There has been no specific reason cited for the latest move to oust Upshaw, and Vincent has yet to be reached for comment.

Stover also could not be reached for immediate comment.

Chris Mortensen covers the NFL for ESPN.

1997 Baltimore Sun article on John Unitas

www.baltimoresun.com/sports/football/bal-unitas-steadman97-0911,0,4524528.story
baltimoresun.com

The Golden Arm is on the mend

Unitas: The legendary quarterback has fabulous memories, but also pain to remind him of his 18-year NFL career.

By John Steadman
Baltimore Sun columnist

October 5, 1997


It was a passive morning at Passing Fancy, the flat expanse of farmland where John Unitas, wife Sandra and their three children live in comfort and a laid-back, kick-off-your-shoes kind of rural leisure.

Their impeccable white-fenced sanctuary is located in the Long Green Valley, affording a grand vista of the Maryland countryside, away from the public glare but, at the same time, not so private that it's a self-imposed isolation.

Sons Joey and Chad are away at college; daughter Paige is a student at St. Paul's School For Girls. And the most famous player in the history of the Baltimore Colts and the consummate quarterback, the best the NFL has ever known, is recovering from surgery to an arm that was once so lethal it shot holes in otherwise airtight defenses, created an effusion of points and caused scoreboards to short-circuit.

Unitas was a talent unto himself. Physically strong, mentally alert, quietly defiant in the face of all challenges and beyond intimidation. Respected by the men on the other side of the scrimmage line, as well as revered by teammates. A guard named Art Spinney, who played to his left, referred to him as the "meal ticket." To halfback Lenny Moore he was simply "Johnny U." At the moment, Unitas is a Colt in harness, wearing a protective case around his right arm, from wrist to mid-biceps, and facing at least three months of therapy with the hope that some percentage of normal strength will eventually return to a limb that progressively went limp.

The complex surgery, performed by Dr. Andrew Eglseder at the University of Maryland Hospital Medical Systems, took five hours and involved repairing and relocating ligaments, removing bone fragments and moving the ulnar nerve to its proper location.

The injury that triggered the belated trauma was suffered in 1968 in the final game of the preseason, when Unitas leaned away to avoid an all-out rush from the Dallas Cowboys and, in trying to get under the pressure to deliver a pass with a sidearm delivery, had the flexor and pronator muscles torn from their track by the intensity of the hit.

It was the season in which he would come back to throw only 32 passes, and his replacement, Earl Morrall, became the NFL's Most Valuable Player. And there was the journey to Super Bowl III -- a long afternoon for the Colts as they lost to the New York Jets, 16-7, in one of the most momentous upsets in NFL history.

Now, almost three decades later, the residual results of the damage caused his right arm to lose strength. Near paralysis.

"I couldn't hold a cup of coffee or pick up a pen to sign my name," he explained. "I wasn't able to grip a golf club, carry a suitcase or even lift a knife or fork."

Now, after the surgical phase, all he can do is proceed with rehabilitation, under the direction of his longtime friend and physical therapist, Bill Neill, at Kernan Hospital, and await improvement.

He has two artificial knees from earlier operations, which he says "work fine," and a plastic replacement for a middle-finger knuckle that he first shattered when he hit a player's helmet while following through on a pass. An artificial joint had been inserted, but while splitting wood for the fireplace the pressure of swinging the ax caused the replacement knuckle to break.

Then, don't forget the quadruple bypass heart surgery in 1993 that became a life-or-death situation when he was in the hospital for what was expected to be a slightly more than routine knee operation.

Career worth the pain

The pertinent question for Unitas was first asked by his son, John Jr., who is in charge of Unitas Management Corp.

"Young Johnny wanted to know if I thought all these problems were worth playing 18 years of pro football," said his father. "My reaction is, I wonder where I would be without playing football. I guess I'd be teaching school. That's what I went to the University of Louisville for, to get a degree in teaching.

"That would have been a useful way to make a living. With my arm that went bad, the X-rays never showed the extent of the injury or the aftermath of the cortisone shots I took at the time.

"Dr. Eglseder mentioned, after what he found, that he didn't know how I was able to play the last four or five seasons. The ligaments just reattached themselves where they weren't supposed to be, and I guess I made the best of the situation. Maybe that was nature taking over. A lot of NFL players are having problems in later life. Nothing new about that."

Unitas, looking out on his 19 acres (symbolic of the jersey number he wore), seemed more reflective and contemplative than usual. Outside, beyond the house, three dogs romped, two goats charged about their playpen and, at the far end of the property, a herd of white-faced Herefords huddled under shade trees. And the surrounding flower gardens were in fall bloom.

Unitas, meanwhile, was enjoying talking about how it was to play hard and then go out and drink a cold beer with a teammate or a rival from the other side of the scrimmage line.

He was nudged into discussing the infamous mistake the Pittsburgh Steelers made in 1955 when, after drafting him, a hometown product, in the ninth round, they never gave him a chance to play in a single exhibition. Then, just like that, he was cut loose.

"I remember I was in all the scrimmages and went against the first-string defense in practices all the time, but coach Walt Kiesling wouldn't let me play in a game.

"We were playing an exhibition in Miami against the Detroit Lions. I was on the bench and Kiesling looked right at me. I figured he was finally going to use me. I reached down for my helmet and then he said, 'Marchibroda.' We had Ted Marchibroda as a quarterback and also Jimmy Finks and Vic Eaton. Ted had only been back with the Steelers from National Guard duty about two days and he was using him.

"We returned to Pittsburgh, had the weekend off and then I rode back to training camp in Olean, N.Y., with Finks and Lynn Chandnois. En route, we picked up Ted Marchibroda in Oil City [Pa.]. On Monday morning, assistant coach Nick Skorich, a real nice man, told me to bring my playbook and come see the head coach, Kiesling. I knew what that meant.

"He said he was going to have to let me go because he couldn't keep four quarterbacks. I said to him, 'Coach, I'm not upset you're getting rid of me, but you never even gave me [an] opportunity; that's what I feel is wrong.'

"I got $ 10 bus fare from Olean to Pittsburgh. I kept the money and hitchhiked home with another kid who got cut. He went off to the seminary and became a priest."

Unitas signed to play for a semipro team near Pittsburgh, the Bloomfield Rams, for $ 6 a game and took a job with a pile-driving crew. He didn't mind the work and needed the money because he had a wife, Dorothy, and a son, plus another child was expected soon.

He was making $ 11 an hour and working as the "monkey man" with the outfit, meaning that every morning at the job site he climbed 125 feet up the rig to grease the equipment. "We were driving piles, creating 50 tons of pressure every time we drove the corrugated pipe into the ground," he recalled.

That's what Unitas was doing when the Colts signed him for a non-guaranteed contract of $ 6,000 (no bonus) and, on the rebound, he went on to become the greatest quarterback the NFL has known.

Personally, he's blunt, unselfish, comes to the point in a hurry, is trusting and, yet, at the same time, suspicious, particularly of strangers -- the reason being that he has too often been betrayed by business partners and, at this time in his life, at age 64, believes in keeping his guard up to ward off con artists and pitch men.

Now he's an official with Matco Electronics Group in Timonium and is either in the office or on the road for sales presentations.

A storied career

With the Colts, he was the only player to be a part of three championship teams -- in 1958, 1959 and the Super Bowl in 1970. He set 22 records, was the league MVP three times, played in 10 Pro Bowls and was named to the all-time NFL team.

Playing against Unitas for the Green Bay Packers, tackle Henry Jordan was asked by a teammate, in short-yardage situations, what kind of play he might expect. "I don't know," mumbled a weary and wary Jordan, "because for five years I've been trying to figure him out and he always does what you don't expect."

Unitas believes being a defensive player in high school and college helped him formulate a comprehensive concept of the game.

"I hate to see specialization," he said. "I know playing defense made me a better quarterback because I had a chance to realize how defensive players think in certain situations and then as a play-caller could go at them accordingly. With the Colts, a smart player named Lloyd Colteryahn told me how I could work a lot of plays off a slant pass.

"Get that going and then do other things off it. I studied game films and looked for tendencies. I also kept checking myself so I didn't get into the same play-calling sequence. Gee, the slant pass was good for us. Throwing to Raymond Berry or Lenny Moore on the slant set up other things we could do. Can you imagine any coach showing Raymond or Lenny how to run a slant?

"I paid attention to players in the huddle and what they said they could do. If you listened to L. G. Dupre, he was open every play. But I did throw to him. Now with Jimmy Orr, another fine player, when he would say, 'Senor, the time is now and I can beat him on a z-out pattern.' When Orr said that, you knew he could get it done."

As for contemporary quarterbacks, Unitas regards Dan Marino highly and says that in 1983 he suggested to Ernie Accorsi, then general manager of the Colts, that he draft Marino. In the same respected category he includes John Elway, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman and Steve Young.

The most money Unitas ever earned from the Colts was $125,000 a year. Sold to the San Diego Chargers, they immediately doubled his contract to $250,000, but that's hardly comparable to the millions of dollars players make today.

Unitas has great memories, a reputation to match and a body that has almost as many replacement parts as you can find in a repair shop.

From his perspective, there is no reason for lamentation, but he has paid an enormous personal price for throwing touchdown passes. Yet he doesn't complain. That was never the Unitas way. He just took the best shot they had to give, got up, looked the defense in the eye and found a way to put the ball in the end zone.

Increased Heart Risk Seen for Retired NFL Players

washingtonpost.com

Sunday, March 30, 2008; 12:00 AM

SUNDAY, March 30 (HealthDay News) -- Retired National Football League players have an increased risk of heart problems, say researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

They added that screening for cardiovascular conditions among elite-level football players should begin in high school and continue throughout the lives of college and professional players.

The Mayo team examined the cardiovascular health of 233 retired NFL players, aged 35 to 65. They did this by measuring the internal diameter of the carotid (neck) artery and by assessing levels of plaque deposits that can block blood flow.

The researchers found that 82 percent of the retired players under age 50 had abnormal narrowing and blockages in their arteries greater than the 75th percentile of the general population. That means these retired players may be at increased risk for high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke.

These retired players hadn't been diagnosed with heart disease and they showed no signs of cardiovascular trouble, such as chest pain during exertion. Because they had no diagnosis or symptoms, the players weren't aware they were at serious risk of heart attack or stroke, or that they needed to make lifestyle changes or start medical therapy to improve their cardiovascular health.

The high incidence of plaque in the players' blood vessels suggests the increased narrowing of arteries is not solely due to increased body-mass index, and further research is needed to explain this, the researchers said.

The study, which was to be presented Sunday at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting in Chicago, is one of the largest studies to take a close look at cardiovascular health in retired NFL athletes. The findings add to growing evidence of poor heart health among these athletes and suggest that young competitive players may benefit from regular cardiovascular screening, the researchers said.

"What we hope to emphasize with our findings is that all NFL players, retired or not, need to undergo cardiovascular health evaluation because they may have changes in heart and vessel conditions that we can treat so they don't experience problems later in life," lead researcher and cardiologist Dr. Robert Hurst said in a prepared
statement.

"Cardiovascular screening is readily available and needs to become a routine part of serious football players' health care, beginning at the high school level for those who engaged in a highly competitive and rigorous level of training and play," added Dr. Bijoy Khandheria, chairman of cardiovascular diseases at Mayo Clinic.

"Effective therapies are available to help players avoid serious cardiovascular problems later in life, but players need to take that first step of seeking out screening programs to identify those at risk," Khandheria said in a prepared statement.

Previous studies have found that:

Retired NFL players are more prone to obesity and obstructive sleep apnea than the general population.Retired NFL players have an increased rate of metabolic syndrome, a condition increasingly linked with lack of activity and being overweight that can lead to type 2 diabetes.Linemen have a higher death rate than people in the general
population.

More information

The American Heart Association outlines common cardiovascular diseases.

SOURCE: Mayo Clinic, news release, March 30, 2008

Goodell: League's CBA not working

www.washingtontimes.com

April 1, 2008

By David Elfin - PALM BEACH, Fla. -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is concerned the economics of the league's collective bargaining agreement with its players association, extended just two years ago, aren't working.

"The thing we are starting to realize is that [the CBA] has swung considerably toward the players," Goodell said yesterday at the opening of the NFL's annual spring meeting. "In the economy we have now, that can really [have] a significant impact on clubs. We have rising costs. The economics of operating a team are extremely thin
margins. When you shrink the margins, at some point in time the agreement becomes untenable. We have to be very cautious here, and the players need to recognize those risks and the tremendous costs."

NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw wasn't surprised by Goodell's comments.

"The players have already recognized the risk," Upshaw told The Washington Times. "We are the only union in sports that helps the owners finance and build stadiums [through the NFL's G3 program] ... because we were concerned about teams leaving larger markets for smaller markets. We will have to wait and see what 'thin' means. It sure does not sound like 'loses.' The owners cannot live with this CBA. The players will not accept less than we are already getting."

When the CBA was extended in 2006 after several delays and plenty of arm-twisting by Goodell's predecessor, Paul Tagliabue, the salary cap soared from $85 million to $102 million. At $116 million this year for each of the 32 teams, that's a league-wide jump of almost $1 billion in just three years.

Large market teams like the Washington Redskins, who set an all-time NFL attendance record in 2007, the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots, can handle that increase. It's not so easy for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cincinnati Bengals or the Buffalo Bills.

"[We want to] keep a strong economic foundation so all teams have the ability to compete," Goodell said.

If enough owners join Buffalo's Ralph Wilson and Pat Bowlen of the Denver Broncos in expressing so much concern about the renegotiated CBA that they vote to opt out of the deal in November, Upshaw has threatened to decertify the union. Those moves would trigger the termination of the cap in 2010 and the expiration of the CBA for 2011,
likely giving the sport its first labor stoppage since 1987.

"It's difficult for clubs to stay up with what our owners have to pay our players," Goodell said. "The salary cap is so high that some owners aren't concerned [whether there is a cap or not]."

However, Goodell said that he's not worried that some owners, in the absence of a cap, could emulate baseball's George Steinbrenner in signing every free agent because "you can't buy championships."

Notes -- The New England Patriots' three Super Bowl championships during the past seven seasons are being questioned because of accusations of stealing opponents' signals. Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft both expressed frustration yesterday over the slowness of the investigation into former videographer Matt Walsh's claims.

"We won 18 games, and a day or two before the Super Bowl the damaging allegations came out," Kraft said in his first public comments since then. "Seven weeks later, there has been no confirmation. We live in a society where people can make any kind of an [accusation]. It has to be substantiated. I know how hard our people worked to accomplish what they did this year."

Goodell, who punished Patriots coach Bill Belichick for stealing the New York Jets' signals in the 2007 opener by taking away New England's first-round pick in this month's draft, remains confident that's as far as "Spygate" goes.

"We're making progress I think," Goodell said. "We have met with over 50 people, and [Walsh] is the only one [with] conditions [to talk]. He has implied through the media that he may have information I have not been aware of. If he does, I would be anxious to see it." ...

The owners approved the sale of 50 percent of the Miami Dolphins from Wayne Huizenga to Steve Ross.

Upshaw: No need for an NFLPA heir

By LIZ MULLEN
Sports Business Journal Staff writer
Published March 31, 2008 : Page 01

NFL Players Association Executive Director Gene Upshaw, facing the prospect of mandatory retirement during his biggest labor battle in decades, said last week that he had no plans to name a No. 2 executive and would not leave the union until the right successor was found.

Under a union rule put into effect years ago by Upshaw himself, NFLPA employees must retire at age 65. Upshaw will turn 65 in August 2010, which stands to be the last year of the current labor agreement.

The collective-bargaining agreement runs until 2012, but owners have the option to opt out of the deal two years earlier. It is widely expected they will exercise that right later this year.

That could mean that the union would be looking for a new leader at the same time that players are facing a lockout. Upshaw has said he believes the NFL is preparing to lock players out in 2011.

“I will not leave the PA until I am satisfied we have the right leader,” Upshaw wrote last week in an e-mail from Hawaii, where he was vacationing after the NFLPA annual meeting there earlier this month.

“We have a rule of [a mandatory retirement age of] 65 in the NFLPA, but as executive director I can stay until a replacement is found,” he said.

Upshaw did not respond to inquiries on whether he would overturn the rule since he was the one who put it in place. He also did not answer whether he would leave the union at a time when it was likely to be facing a labor war.

According to the annual report that the NFLPA files with the U.S. Department of Labor, Upshaw’s employment contract expires Dec. 31, 2010. Upshaw, a Hall of Fame offensive guard for the Oakland Raiders, will turn 65 on Aug. 15, 2010, according to several biographies and other information on the Internet.

In recent years, there has been growing speculation that Troy Vincent, the NFLPA’s player president for the last four years, would succeed Upshaw as executive director. NFL players ultimately vote on who will be hired for that post.

Speculation about Vincent increased after Yahoo! Sports ran a story March 19 under the headline, “Vincent to become union’s No. 2” and said Vincent expected to be named assistant executive director of the NFLPA at the union’s annual meeting, according to two unnamed sources.

But that did not occur at the union meeting. Upshaw wrote, “Troy is not No. 2 and he has not been hired. … The speculation that Troy will succeed me is just that. It will not be my decision to make but I will have plenty of input.”

Vincent, who is no longer an active player and therefore could not seek another term as player president, said he had no agreement with Upshaw to be hired at the NFLPA, although he allowed that potentially could happen in the future. Upshaw “obviously does all the hiring as the executive director. I have no expectations,” Vincent said last week.

Upshaw, meanwhile, indicated he would not be hiring Vincent or anyone else as the No. 2 in command at the NFLPA.

“There is only a No. 1 and there will not be a No. 2,” Upshaw wrote. “Number 2 is always trying to become No.1 and never wants to wait. They can always do it better, they are like backup [quarterbacks]. There is a reason they are backups.”

Foxworth tired of Upshaw bashing

Sunday, February 24, 2008

By Bill Williamson
The Denver Post

Domonique Foxworth admits he isn't completely satisfied with the leadership of the NFL Players Association.

However, the Broncos defensive back is tired of hearing current and former players verbally attack the union's executive director, Gene Upshaw. In the past year, many people, most notably Mike Ditka and Kyle Turley, have taken Upshaw to task for his handling of retired and disabled players. Foxworth understands where the frustration is coming from, but he doesn't believe publicly bashing Upshaw is worthwhile.

"It's frustrating to me to keep reading this stuff," said Foxworth, who was the Broncos' assistant union rep last year and is poised to take over for Rod Smith, who likely will retire, this year.

"Why should all these guys air their dirty laundry? If they are unhappy they should join the cause and help make things better instead of just talking about it. . . . I've had my differences with Gene and the union but I have worked to solve them instead of going public. Instead of keep saying 'Gene stinks, Gene stinks, Gene stinks.' Do something about it."

Foxworth said he plans to stay active in the union for the rest of his career and aspires to someday be union president.

"That's how you make things better," Foxworth said. "I have nothing against guys like Ditka and Turley, but just talking about things doesn't do any of us any good."


Comment by Bruce Laird, posted to Denver Post in response to Domonique Foxworth's remarks:

* Retired NFL players With all due respect to Domonique Foxworth, many of those who are involved in retired players' efforts and/or who have been directly affected by the union's indifference, even hostility, toward retired players have, in fact, worked diligently within the system. For example, I've been involved in the National Football League PLayers' Association for decades, as a player rep with the Baltimore Colts and as an officer of the NFLPA's Baltimore chapter of retired players. Bernie Parrish was one of the founders of the NFLPA. And John Mackey was the first president of the NFLPA following the merger of the NFL and AFL. Mackey filed suit against the NFL to gain free agency for active players, thus setting in motion events that have resulted in the lucrative contracts and benefits afforded modern players.

Yet Mackey, who was diagnosed at age 59 with frontotemporal dementia, received no assistance from the union when he could no longer work and required full-time care. When my teammates and I saw what was happening to Mackey, we had to act. We organized a fundraiser that raised more than $25,000 to immediately assist the Mackey family in caring for John and we lobbied the NFLPA to take steps to assist Mackey and other players who suffer from football-related ailments.

Our efforts -- coupled with an appeal by John Mackey's wife Sylvia to then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue -- resulted in the 88 Plan to assist those affected with dementia and Alzheimer's. And our efforts grew to become Fourth & Goal, a national 501(c)(3) organization that advocates for improved pension and disability benefits and representation for retired players.

I'd welcome a dialog with Mr. Foxworth. I can be reached at baltimorecoltsalumni@msn.com or fourth.and.goal@hotmail.com. For additional information on Fourth & Goal, go to www.fourthandgoalunites.com.

Bruce Laird
President, Fourth & Goal
Baltimore Colts, 1972-1981
San Diego Chargers, 1982-1983
Bruce Laird
Joined: Sep 24
Points: 211 Posted by Bruce Laird (aka BadBoy40)
at 6:58 AM on Sunday Feb 24 Report Abuse | Report Good Comment

Playing football for the love of the game

Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008

Ex-NFL player with Glenarden roots talks with youth looking to score big
by Natalie McGill | Staff Writer
Montgomery County, Md., Gazette

Throwing a football well before the existence of multi-million dollar team signings, commercial endorsements for footwear and even the Super Bowl, ex-NFL player John Cash was in it for the love of the game. And on Friday, Cash, who works part-time at the Glenarden Community Center, shared that love and his professional sports experiences with youth.

Cash’s visit was one of several planned for the joint ‘‘Do You Have What It Takes?” program at the Glenarden and Glenn Dale community centers that brings out African-American athletes from Prince George’s County to talk to youth about the sacrifices to becoming a professional athlete.

Glenarden Community Center Director Michael Kurland and Glenn Dale Community Center’s assistant director Tammy Massey began the program last year in conjunction with Black History Month. Out of the 11 young men who attended Friday’s program, seven raised their hands when asked if they wanted to play sports professionally.

‘‘We thought kids needed a little more direction as far as looking up to someone who has been there and done that instead of trying to do it on their own,” Kurland said.

Cash, 73, who played football at Allen University in Columbia, S.C., signed with the Cleveland Browns in 1960 and played for a year before signing with the Denver Broncos. He experienced highs and lows as an African-American NFL player, from flying first class to games, to not being allowed to stay in the same hotel with his white teammates on a visit to Los Angeles.

Cash played with the Broncos until 1964 when he found out he had calcium deposits in his ankle and was urged by his doctor to stop playing football. Following the NFL, Cash played with the Roanoke Buckskins, a ‘‘farm team” for the Washington Redskins to pick new recruits, from 1965 to 1970.

‘‘Had I played one more year I would’ve gotten pension,” Cash said. ‘‘But as I said, I’m blessed. If I had a chance to do it all over again I would do it.”

After playing with the Buckskins, Cash, his wife, Gloria Cash, and their two sons, John Cash Jr. and Bruce Cash, moved from Washington, D.C., to a single-family home on Brightseat Road in Glenarden, where they lived for 33 years. While working for the United States Postal Service in Bethesda, Cash started part time at the Glenarden Community Center in 1972, where he has remained ever since and now answers the center’s phones. Cash now lives in Woodmore near Mitchellville.

During his time at Glenarden Community Center, Cash coached the center’s basketball team and led them to 12 community center championships. He also coached the Glenarden Boys and Girls Club’s football team and continues to give the club copies of plays he used to run when he was coach.

‘‘It’s really cool having an ex-NFL star at our facility,” Kurland said. ‘‘It kind of brings some prestige to Glenarden.”

Cash brought in his old football, black cleats and football helmet, a brown paint-chipped helmet with a metal face guard and sparse padding around the cheek bone area. Massey wanted youth to see what equipment players like Cash had to use compared to the heavily padded gear today’s NFL players wear. Cash also brought in 50 cent game programs from his days with the Browns and Broncos and records of his contracts listing his starting salary.

Jairus Harper, 15, of Lanham said he was surprised at how little money Cash made after he told his peers he made $6,000 a year as his starting salary.

‘‘I learned a lot from him and things were a lot different back then,” Harper said.

Massey said the program gives those children and teens who aspire to play in the NBA or NFL a reality check about what hard work is necessary to go pro but she also wants them to know that it is possible if they work hard.

‘‘I wanted them to see the history of what they’re trying to get into,” Massey said. ‘‘I want them to understand it took men like Mr. Cash to pave the way.”

Cash said his advice to youth desiring a career in professional sports is to not only practice their craft but get an education first, adding he would not have attended school if he was unable to get a football scholarship to Allen University that paid him $20 a month.

‘‘Manners will take you where money won’t,” Cash said. ‘‘You have to humble yourself. Apply yourself.”

Lawrence Stokes, 14, of Greenbelt said Cash’s speech made him realize education comes before anything, but he would still like to play for the NBA in the future and has no particular preference of where he ends up.

‘‘Whatever team picks me,” Stokes said. ‘‘It doesn’t matter.”

E-mail Natalie McGill at nmcgill@gazette.net.