Much to sort out in lawsuit
Ailing ex-player knows case might outlast him
If the class-action lawsuit brought forward by more than 4,000 former players alleging negligence and fraud in handling concussions against the NFL goes to trial, it will take years.
The discovery phase alone could eat up two, three, maybe four years.
Kevin Turner knows he might not live to see the end of it.
Turner, 43, once a hard-charging fullback, is battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurological condition that has weakened his upper body, disrupted his breathing and sapped his voice.
“To be honest ... it may be down the road, when I’m gone,” Turner, a father of three, said Tuesday, pondering the finish line of the legal case. “But maybe my kids will benefit.”
There is no cure for ALS, nor is there any trace of the disease in Turner’s family’s history, he says, which is why he thinks his affliction was caused by the repetitive head trauma of football. He has no idea how many concussions he endured but insists he was knocked out cold twice and never warned about longtime risks, which is one of the pillar principles of the plaintiffs’ case. Turner played eight seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots from 1992 to 1999. A decade after retiring, he assumed his neck problems stemmed from football injuries.
So he had neck surgery. “That didn’t work,” Turner said. More than a year after symptoms surfaced, he was diagnosed with ALS in May 2010. He estimates his limp hands and arms have about 15% of the strength they once possessed. His lower extremities remain strong, but his condition is deteriorating. The voice started going about six months ago.
Although he needed a friend to accompany him and help him with everything from putting on his pants to brushing his teeth, he says he had to be there Tuesday to support the team of attorneys — “To show them who they are working for and what types of things are out there.”
The gray area of concussion research naturally extends to the legal skirmish. David Frederick, arguing on behalf of the players, said the NFL spread misinformation and in other instances failed to reveal what it knew about concussions. Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general who is leading the NFL’s effort, maintained the lawsuit essentially was a dispute stemming from the collective bargaining agreement and should be handled in arbitration.
Clement had the tougher outing, unable to cite specific language to judge Anita Brody on where longterm risks to concussions were addressed in the CBAs.
If the case continues, debate issues could explore the acceptance of the inherent risks of playing football. Or whether the NFL should be liable for neurological problems that might have originated on another level, such as college or high school. Or whether the NFL Players Association did enough to protect its members.
There’s a lot to sort out. But Turner considers one victory has been achieved with increased awareness about concussions and a culture change in the NFL that includes return-to-play protocol that didn’t exist when he played.
Turner says for too long the NFL refused to acknowledge a link between head injuries and long-term neurological issues.
“Believe me,” he said, “if there was no lawsuit … they’d still be saying, ‘No, no, no.’ ”
Yet there is a lawsuit. And it appears there’s lots of explaining to do.