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Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher did great things as a player. Something he recently said does a great disservice to other men who played the game.
Urlacher, appearing on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast, made a bold claim regarding the motivations of some former players who seek benefits for head trauma suffered during their playing careers.
“Here’s the problem now with all the guys with the CTE,” Urlacher said, via Mediate.com, “if they do have it, I feel for them, but there’s guys who say they have it just so they can be in the fucking lawsuit.”
It’s rare to see so few words contain so many flaws.
First, there is no “lawsuit.” No one is suing the league at this point. The class action was settled, years ago. The settlement makes all players who retired before final certification of the class eligible for potential benefits.
Second, there’s no way anyone can prove that they have CTE while they are still alive. It’s a condition that can be diagnosed only after a person dies. So if a guy says, as Urlacher claims, that he has CTE, the compensation will come only after he dies — and after an analysis of his brain confirms it.
Third, the settlement has created a specific process for assessing a range of real cognitive problems for which compensation is available. If impairment can be proven, the player gets compensation based on the type of condition, along with a specific formula that takes the length of the career into account.
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