Ricki Noel Lander, Robert Kraft and Bridget Moynahan (Getty)
03.14.13
Robert Kraft says he helped close a deal during the 2011 CBA negotiations after the NFLPA head representative and several players asked him to attend some of the meetings. “Look, I’ll do it, but I only want principals in the room. I don’t want attorneys who maybe have other interests. Nothing against attorneys, but I wanted people who had the long-term interests of the game at heart.”
Larry Morris on Georgia Tech, 1954 (AP)
03.07.13
Georgia Tech and Chicago Bears great Larry Morris had a wonderful, loving family – his wife Kay, four children and twelve grandchildren. Unfortunately he died last year without having been aware of that for years, having been diagnosed with dementia at age 52 and about eight years ago no longer remembering his wife’s name. He had a long, great college and pro football career, but an even longer battle with brain damage.
Junior Seau on the San Diego Chargers in 2002 (AP)
03.06.13
On March 1, Federal Judge Thomas Whelan granted a motion to stay the hearing of the lawsuit of Junior Seau’s family versus the NFL. So for the time being, the case does not get transferred to Federal Court. The NFL would like the case transferred so they can file a motion to have the case dismissed based on their Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Union.
03.05.13
Roger Goodell repeatedly touts his commitment to player safety, but a revealing profile by ESPN’s Don Van Natta suggests that Goodell may have indeed prioritized owners’ profits over player safety. Under Goodell’s tenure as Commissioner, the League has become more profitable than ever. It is the reason that team owners like Jerry Jones — who Goodell has helped make rich beyond any conceivable notion — refers to the Commissioner as having a “big set of them.”
1994 "Concussion" issue of Sports Illustrated
03.05.13
Although it may seem as if the concussion crisis in football is a fairly recent issue, the December 19, 1994 issue of Sports Illustrated proves differently. Twelve pages of that eighteen year old issue were devoted to NFL concussions. “Halt the Head Hunting” by Peter King, “The Worst Case” by Michael Farber and “A Bell is Rung” also by Peter King describe many of the same issues that are going on today and with much of the same urgency.
CTE Pioneer Dr. Bennet Omalu and MTBI member Dr. Ira Casson (AP)
03.05.13
Travis Leach, an Arizona-based sports law attorney thinks that physicians are going to play a significant role in the current NFL concussion litigation. That of course, if the litigation survives the NFL motion to dismiss that will be heard April 9 in Philadelphia. “The crux of these cases is: What did medical professionals know historically about concussions, and what was the common medical practice 10, 20 years ago when these issues started arising?”
Julianna Margulies and husband, former Covington Lawyer Keith Lieberthal
03.03.13
They’ve never had two-a-days, and they don’t wear pads to work. They may have never suffered a concussion and it’s more likely that a knee injury came from a ski trip in Aspen than on a football field in Green Bay. But these men* have more impact on the health and well-being of NFL players than Ray Lewis or Dick Butkus ever did. The blue-chip attorneys at the oldest and largest law firm in Washington D.C., Covington and Burling LLP have been working with NFL team owners since at least 1960 when the formation of the AFL first threatened their 13 team empire.
