Jan 27
NFL: Concussion claims don’t belong in courts
MIAMI (AP) — Former NFL players should not be permitted to sue for damages over concussions they suffered because player safety issues have long been governed by the league’s collective bargaining agreements, an NFL attorney said Thursday.
“You don’t get to come to court,” league lawyer Beth Wilkinson said. “They should go through the process that’s laid out in the agreement.”
Wilkinson spoke following a hearing before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which is considering whether to consolidate 21 player lawsuits filed in six states before a single judge for pretrial matters. At least 300 former football players, plus an equal number of wives and other family members, are plaintiffs in the cases.
They include Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett, Lem Barney and Joe DeLamielleure and other stars such as Ottis Anderson, Mark Duper, Jim McMahon, Paul Krause and Marvin Jones. The vast majority, however, are players who toiled more obscurely in the game’s trenches and often bounced from team to team. Some are suffering from degenerative brain diseases, depression and other mental ailments.
The six-judge panel made no immediate decision. Still, there was a clear
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