NFL concussion deals criticized
Ex-Packer Davenport one of two plaintiffs
Ex-Packer Najeh Davenport says NFL concussion settlements discriminate against Black players.
Former Green Bay Packer Najeh Davenport is one of two Black retired players who accuse the NFL of racial discrimination in how it doles out settlements to those suffering brain damage from repeated concussions during their careers.
Davenport, a running back who also played for the Steelers and Colts between 2003 and 2008, is one of two named plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit filed Monday in Pennsylvania. The other is Kevin Henry, who played eight years for the Steelers. But their lawsuit seeks to represent a class of thousands of Black former players who might claim compensation for concussions suffered before the NFL treated them as a serious injury.
The suit asks the judge overseeing the 2014 settlement of prior cases over head injuries in the NFL to prohibit the use of so-called "race normed" standards when assessing eligibility for the benefits.
According to the suit, the so-called race norms tend to presume Black players started out with less cognitive function than white players, so that when cognition is measured now to assess impairment, the difference doesn't look as bad and Black players qualify for benefits less often.
“The NFL's administration of the settlement created a ‘Black' door and a ‘White' door for benefits, in which former players with identical test scores get different treatment — solely on the basis of race,” said Cy Smith, the lead attorney for the lawyers, and a partner at Zuckerman Spaeder LLP in Washington, D.C.
“This approach was not required by the settlement, and the NFL is fully aware of its discriminatory impact on Black players. The NFL has a choice to make: live up to its word and treat
Black players like their lives matter, or continue pushing them aside.”
NFL officials could not be immediately reached Tuesday.
According to the suit, Davenport endured more than ten concussions while playing, including one in which he lost consciousness. Today, he suffers memory loss, cognitive decline and depression and struggles with daily chores.
As part of his application for benefits under the settlement, Davenport got a neurological exam last year. A doctor found moderate decline/mild dementia for executive functioning, and severe decline/moderate dementia for language. Davenport was notified he qualified for compensation.
But the NFL appealed. A second, race-normed examination, concluded Davenport suffered no cognitive impairments, and should not receive any payout under the settlement.
In 2011, when it became clearer that NFL players had suffered brain injuries from playing, they began suing the league, individually and in groups, around the country. The actions were consolidated into litigation before a federal judge in Philadelphia and resulted in the 2014 agreement to compensate players for cognitive impairments suffered from concussions.
As of Aug. 1, there are more than 20,000 members of the class, the majority of whom are Black, and 1,170 payouts, according to the website of the settlement administrator. More than 12,000 members of the class have been subjected to baseline testing, and few have had evaluations of their current conditions.
The lawsuit asks a judge to declare the current practice violates the Black players' rights to equal protection, stop its use, and pay damages to the affected retirees for pain, suffering and humiliation, as well as punitive damages.