Football's Greater good
Ditka's group gets results as callous NFL, union avoid problem
You might think a billion-dollar corporation propelled by skilled performers who bring in mountains of money for the enterprise would take care of those same performers when they had given their all for the company.
But if you were talking about the NFL, you'd be wrong.
The stories of wounded, nearly destitute ex-players with physical or mental disabilities caused by the pro game who have been abandoned by the NFL and its union are legion.
Those crippled men shamble quietly in the shadows between the grand Sunday pageants, a gray and hobbled battalion of down-on-their-luck former stars, role players and journeymen.
Through run-arounds and administrative nonsense, the ex-players are almost routinely denied medical help for their ruined joints and damaged brains.
Financial problems?
Good luck.
''Delay, deny and hope we die,'' is how former Cleveland Browns defensive back Bernie Parrish puts it.
So a not-for-profit organization such as the Gridiron Greats, founded by former Green Bay Packers guard Jerry Kramer and overseen by Mike Ditka, Gale Sayers, Harry Carson, Kyle Turley and other former NFL stars, has jumped into the breach.
By quickly doling out money and medical direction to destitute or deeply wounded ''dire-needs'' former players, the Gridiron Greats exists as both an alternative and a steely barb to the league and its union, the groups that should be doing this work.
''I don't have a beef with the NFL,'' Ditka said Thursday night, sitting down for dinner with wife Diana at his Chicago restaurant. ''But if somebody needs help, shouldn't they just be helped? The NFL helps a lower percentage of its former employees for disability than the national average. You think playing football is a little more dangerous than sitting in an office?''
Perhaps worse than the slowness and parsimony of the league is the downright nastiness it has displayed because of its embarrassment and desire to protect its turf, no matter how sordid that turf might be.
Immediately after the Gridiron Greats declared its goals and presented handicapped players who spoke poignantly of the medical mess, the NFL Players Association organized its ''Truth Squad'' and published a mean-sprited ''White Paper'' online that attempted to discredit the damaged players themselves.
''I was shocked to learn about the NFLPA public tactics and to find myself written about in their 'White Pages' on the Internet,'' said Dave Pear, 54, a former All-Pro defensive tackle who uses a cane to walk because of severe hip and spinal problems. ''This is causing additional anguish to myself, my family and many of these disabled players who, like me, are already suffering due to the NFLPA's inadequate disability system. Now, to have to endure even more distress and hardships at the hands of their union, I have posted my story information and even some X-rays for people to see.''
That's how you fight back against a monolith: show your sad and private X-rays to the world.
On Tuesday, the Gridiron Greats is going to announce another development that will be cause for joy among retired players but yet another bruise for the NFLPA and the league.
Quite simply, doctors at two prestigious medical centers, the Surgical Specialty Hospital of Arizona in Phoenix and the OAA Orthopedic Specialists in Allentown, Pa., will work with Ditka's group to provide everything from spine surgery to joint replacement to pain management to delicate microsurgery on fingers and toes for financially strapped ex-players.
''It's just amazing,'' says Jennifer Smith, the Gridiron Greats' executive director. ''And for players who come through us and qualify, services will be donated without cost. And it will happen fast.''
The NFLPA announced a joint replacement program last October, and as of April, one ex-player had been treated and a handful of others had been given small medical stipends.
''The NFL? They're working on it,'' says Ditka, burned red as a tomato from a day of golf and e-mail. ''They're always working on it.''
First in line for serious surgical work will be former Jaguars lineman Brian DeMarco, former Dolphins running back and Super Bowl star Mercury Morris, former Bills and Lions wide receiver J.D. Hill and former Bears running back Andy Livingston.
Livingston, for those who don't recall, was a phenomenal athlete who won the Arizona state high school 100-yard dash title in 1962 and played in the NFL at age 19.
His knees are, of course, destroyed.
So why are these doctors suddenly donating their many resources to this cause?
''I know what goes on,'' says Dr. Robert C. Palumbo of the Pennsylvania group. ''I played college football, and I have empathy for athletes.''
Palumbo is a ''second opinion'' doctor for the NFLPA, meaning he makes decisions on ex-players and their needs, and he has grown frustrated with the inaction of the system.
''We doctors would just look at each other and say, 'What the hell? Why is it taking so long?'''
Palumbo, an expert in shoulder, ankle and knee surgery, is overjoyed with the Gridiron Greats' approach.
''A surgical candidate is a surgical candidate,'' he says. ''It's not hard. Let's schedule it and do it.''
And the shame rolls on.
