The NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell are being sued by a group of 10 former players in federal court for allegedly wrongly denying the players’ disability claims.
The lawsuit, led by former running backs Willis McGahee and Eric Smith, claims a “disturbing pattern of erroneous and arbitrary benefits denials, bad faith contract misinterpretations, and other unscrupulous tactics.”
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The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, lists former NFL players Jason Alford, Daniel Loper, McGahee, Michael Mckenzie, Jamize Olawale, Alex Parsons, Charles Sims, Smith, Joey Thomas, and Lance Zeno as plaintiffs. The defendants listed in the lawsuit also include the various league benefit and retirement plans and other league officials.
The suit alleges that when reviewing disability claims, the league would use biased doctors to have the claims reviewed. The players say the league has violated federal law by not allowing for a fair review of all available evidence for their claims.
“Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the NFL’s betrayal of its players once we are no longer on the field and making them money,” Smith said in a release, per the Washington Post.
The lawsuit comes after years of criticism mounted against the league for its handling of player health and safety, with concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy being the most discussed health problems.
During the 2022 regular season, player health and safety was in the spotlight after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered multiple concussions, with one of them leaving him motionless on the field for several minutes. Months later, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during a game after suffering cardiac arrest. The cause of Hamlin’s cardiac arrest is still unknown.
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The league’s championship game, Super Bowl LVII, between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, is set for kickoff at 6 p.m. Sunday in Glendale, Arizona. The game will be televised by Fox.
