HELP US, ROGER!

Mark urges NFL to assist injured

Jets great Mark Gastineau made an impassioned plea to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell Thursday to help former players struggling with neurological disorders.

The poster boy of Gang Green’s famed Sack Exchange in the early 1980s revealed last year that he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Although the 61-year-old Gastineau is part of the NFL concussion lawsuit, he’s yet to be medically approved to receive compensation.

“I want the NFL to treat people right,” Gastineau said on 710 WOR-AM on Thursday night. “I want to hold you to your promise, Roger Goodell. You said, ‘Anything I need!’ I want the players to be treated right.”

Gastineau relayed a story from a game a year ago when Goodell assured the former defensive lineman that he’d be taken care of. That evidently hasn’t happened.

Gastineau was the flamboyant face of the Sack Exchange, whose sack dance was the forerunner to a new generation of athletes celebrating impactful plays. He dated a Hollywood star and seemingly craved the attention of being a sports star in New York during his 10-year career. “I used to think I was all that ... I did,” Gastineau said. “But ... I was nothing. You know why? Because of what happened to me. And I’ll tell you this much: The NFL is wrong. The NFL is wrong. They’re wrong. I’m not telling them to give me zillions of dollars. I don’t want zillions of dollars. I want to be treated with respect.” Gastineau, who conducted the emotional radio interview with his wife Jo Ann and attorney by his side, also relayed some of his daily struggles. “I used to go around and do yardwork ... (My wife) does everything now for me,” Gastineau said, sobbing. “It’s not good ... when I’m (lying) in bed until 3, 4 or 5 pm. It’s not good. There will be days I get up and I’m good. My wife ... helps me get out of bed and she’ll help me remember names.”