Packers Daily Links: Murphy Criticizes "Almost Shameless" Concussion Lawsuits

Packers president Mark Murphy looks down upon lawyers getting on the concussion bandwagon. That and more in today's Daily Links...

Following Tuesday's shareholders meeting in Green Bay, Packers president Mark Murphy addressed questions about player health and safety in regards to the litany of concussion lawsuits against the NFL. "The attorneys are almost shameless in terms of how they're pursuing and marketing the lawsuits," Murphy is quoted as saying by Paul Imig of Fox Sports Wisconsin. "As a former player, almost on a daily basis now I'm getting letters and emails from attorneys asking me to join the lawsuits against the NFL. They're obviously not doing their research. It shows you, there's an active market out there." Murphy was a safety with the Washington Redskins in the '70s and '80s. While I agree there's plenty the NFL can do in terms of providing its former players with health insurance, I have a hard time finding the merit in lawsuits.

More on Mark Muphy and the concussion lawsuits come from JSOnline and ESPNMilwaukee.com.

Mark Murphy also created a stir by publicly coming out against the proposed 18-game NFL regular season schedule on Tuesday. "I was in favor of it during the bargaining process because I saw it as a way to bring the parties together and reach an agreement . Now, to be honest with you, I couldn't support a move to two (preseason) and 18 (regular season). I just think with all the focus on player health and safety, it would be really hard to do that,'' Murphy is quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "And actually, I would be in support of a move to two (preseason) and 16 (regular season).'' It's going to be difficult to get everyone on board with the elimination of two preseason games and the loss in revenue that comes along with it. Stay tuned for this storyline in which the tides appear to be turning.

More on Mark Murphy and the 18-game schedule comes from the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Journal Sentinel and JSOnline.

The warm reception general manager Ted Thompson received on Tuesday at the shareholders meeting was notable and was in stark contrast to the summer of 2008 during Brett Favre's divorce from the Packers. "Four years later, Thompson appears to be universally approved of by Packers fans," writes Paul Imig. "During the team's annual shareholders meeting Tuesday morning, the GM was given a standing ovation by 12,500 fans wearing green and gold inside Lambeau Field. There were organized shouts of 'We love Ted!' and 'Ted for President!' Throngs of fans clamored for his autograph afterward." It was a rare sight to see Ted Thompson signing autographs yesterday. But above all, it's great to see Thompson being embraced by the fans. He's made unpopular decisions as general manager, but he's always done them in the best interests of the team.

More on Ted Thompson comes from the Green Bay Press-Gazette and ESPNMilwaukee.com.

The shareholders meeting provided an opportunity for the team's owners to see the changes taking place now, including the installation of new video boards, and also hear about changes to Lambeau Field in the future, which will include additions and renovations to the atrium area of the stadium. "The current focus is on moving the pro shop across the way so it all can be on the ground floor and shifting Curly's Pub to ground level for easier access," writes Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The Hall of Fame then would move up to the second floor with escalators leading directly to it included in the renovation." There are also plans to add a second tower to the atrium. It's clear the Packers are being very proactive in keeping up with the Joneses in the competitive off-the-field world of the NFL.

More shareholder meeting reports come from the Green Bay Press-Gazette, twice, ESPNMilwaukee.com, Fox Sports Wisconsin and the Packers official website in a report and a column.

The Packers have hired Ed Policy, son of former San Francisco 49ers president Carmen Policy, to be their new vice president and general counsel. "Policy, 41, spent nine years (2001 through 2009) with the Arena Football League, including two years as the league’s commissioner, president and CEO," writes Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com. "He also served as deputy commissioner and president, chief operating officer and executive vice president of strategic league development and legal affairs. During his tenure with the league, he oversaw all business and operations of the AFL, including strategic development, sales, finance, marketing, broadcasting, digital media, football operations, labor relations, events and human resources." Carmen Policy is very well known for his contributions to the 49ers, so if he's anything like his father, the Packers will have made a positive hire.

More on Ed Policy comes from Packer Report, ProFootballTalk.com and the Packers official website.

Pre-training camp position previews continue with wide receivers at the Journal Sentinel, receivers at the Press-Gazette, secondary at ESPNMilwaukee.com, linebackers at the Packers official website and safeties in general and in-depth articles at Packer Report.

A look at the Packers' salary cap issues and the contracts of several players including quarterback Aaron Rodgers comes from Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel.

A feature on the former Packers' "Golden Girl" appears at PackersNews.com.

Rookie quarterback B.J. Coleman talks about the start of training camp with a local newspaper in Tennessee.

Aaron Rodgers is named the most-important Packer of 2012 by Jason Wilde.

Video: Coverage of the annual shareholders meeting comes from Fox 11 in Green Bay...

Brian Carriveau is the editor at Cheesehead TV. To contact Brian, email [email protected].

0 points
 

Comments (18)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
MarkinMadison's picture

July 25, 2012 at 09:03 am

"While I agree there’s plenty the NFL can do in terms of providing its former players with health insurance, I have a hard time finding the merit in lawsuits."

Even setting aside the concussion issue as a specific problem, there are these nuggets: (1) 60% of players leave the game with permanent, debilitating injuries; and (2) the average life expectancy of a player is 52 to 59, depending on the position played. That's about 20 years less than the rest of us.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-09-08/opinion/nfl.life.after.the.game_1_nfl...

Again, the majority of these players left the game without fistfulls of money - either because they played "too soon," or they just never received a blockbuster deal in their careers. Financial planners will tell you that you need about $1.5 million in the bank before self-insurance makes sense, and for a lot of these guys the bar is probably higher due to their health problems. So their options are: 1) Continue to wait and hope the NFL and NFLPA someday step up, and do the right thing, or 2) sue. In light of all of that, I just can't agree with your comment. And in light of all that, I see Murphy's comments about "shameless lawyers" as nothing more than a cheap PR stunt.

0 points
0
0
Brian Carriveau's picture

July 25, 2012 at 09:18 am

What I'm saying is I can't believe the NFL ever deceived players, which I've seen some of the lawsuits claim. They can definitely share the money, a ton of it with the retired players, but the argument that the NFL was less than forthcoming about the risks of playing football is weak. The players have to share some of the risk and the risk of injury doesn't appear to be stopping any of today's players from playing the game.

0 points
0
0
MarkinMadison's picture

July 25, 2012 at 03:40 pm

I think there's a difference between saying that "the lawsuits are almost shameless" and saying "the MARKETING of the lawsuits is almost shameless." There's also a difference between saying "I have a hard time in finding the merits in lawsuits" and "SOME OF these lawsuits say the NFL lied, and I have a hard time believing it." As far as the NFL goes, did Joe Pa ever lie to anyone, or did he just not take reasonable steps to protect people? Is one more wrong than the other? Probably, but they are both still wrong.

0 points
0
0
retiredgrampa's picture

July 25, 2012 at 12:00 pm

I agree with the word, "shameless". It, unfortunately, applies to far too many attorneys nowadays. But the players are anxious to sign on in hopes of a windfall someday. We shouldn't have held guns to their heads back then.

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE1252's EVO's picture

July 25, 2012 at 01:14 pm

They "chose" to pursue a career in professional football. I "chose" a career in road construction. They have possible health issues with their job. I could get run over by a semi, amongst numerous other things. Make a choice, don't bitch about it later, you chose it. Pretty simple.

GBP 4 LIFE

0 points
0
0
runnerlks's picture

July 25, 2012 at 04:08 pm

Just like those that worked with asbestos back in the day and did not know the health hazard it posed should deal with all the consequences. We are now finding out the consequences of concussions and brain injury on NFL players. If a job puts an employee at risk and the employer does not adequately inform the employee of the risk then the employer is liable. Then again these kind of concepts probably go over the head of a ditch digger.

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE1252's picture

July 25, 2012 at 07:31 pm

LMAO. I get paid to oversee "Ditch Diggers". Good effort though!

As for the asbestos comparison, perhaps you were exposed to some years ago, because that comparison holds no weight. Thanks for playing, and be sure to come again!

0 points
0
0
runnerlks's picture

July 26, 2012 at 02:02 am

Wait, wait, are you saying players in the 50's and 60's were made well aware by the NFL of the dangers of concussions and developing Alzheimers, Parkinsons, and other brain diseases? Cause that is pretty much what happened with asbestos and was happening with concussions and the NFL up until just a few years ago. It's hard to believe someone with a girl flashing as their avatar is going to have a good concept of how an analogy works. Stick with figuring out how to turn the sign from stop to slow.

0 points
0
0
Rocky70's picture

July 26, 2012 at 10:58 am

Best thing about 1st-time posters is they usually 'go away'.

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE1252's EVO's picture

July 26, 2012 at 11:35 am

It's common sense, something you are apparently lacking. Do you think the NFL knew back in those days the extent of head-on-collisions? No. You don't.

Again, I'm going to type really slooow and try to spell this out for you: If your occupation requires you to wear a helmet, there's probably a good chance there's a reason for it.

And why are you determined to come off as a total douche? The funny thing is, a lot of the "ditch diggers" and traffic control personnel you keep referencing have college degrees (just like me)... Construction just pays better. What do you have against the people who keep America moving? Is it that you are jealous? Does your 10th grade education not allow you to land a good paying job with great benefits like we have? Here's a nickels worth of free advice: Go back to school, get your high school diploma, go to college and get a civil engineering degree, and hey... I might be your boss one day!!!

0 points
0
0
PackerAaron's picture

July 26, 2012 at 01:47 pm

Ok kids. Let's get back to football.

0 points
0
0
runnerlks's picture

July 26, 2012 at 01:23 pm

For someone who is such an important supervisor you sure have no clue how liability and negligence work. Good on you for your construction management degree, I'm sure the courses did a great job on teaching you how to properly wear your orange vest.

0 points
0
0
PackersRS's picture

July 26, 2012 at 02:33 pm

If matters were so simple people with much more knowledge regarding liability and negligence would've already come up with a ruling.

To me it's about whether the NFL lied, hid or failed to inform the players about all known health hazards of playing in the league or not. Yes, there's also the issue of what's supposed general knowledge and what's not, but I find it hard for the court to judge specific medical knowledge as such.

This is a great article about it: http://jerseyal.com/GBP/2012/05/09/the-ugly-truth-behind-the-nfl-concuss...

By that it should be enough evidence to find the NFL guilty of such, just a matter of the extent of it and the correspondent sum to be paid. But we don't know all the allegations and evidence in the lawsuits.

So discussions can be had about it, but without all the data nobody can be certain either way.

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE1252's EVO's picture

July 26, 2012 at 02:39 pm

Construction Management degrees are for people who can't get an engineering degree. And I'll have you know... I fill out my vest like no other!

Papa Nagler is right. I'm finished with you. I only allot ten minutes a day to try to help peons, times up... I'm gonna go back to my awesome life now.

Bye!

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE1252's picture

July 25, 2012 at 07:37 pm

Just a question. Even though you failed miserably, why did you try to get all name cally and stuff man? That really hurt my feelers... :-)

0 points
0
0
MarkinMadison's picture

July 27, 2012 at 11:49 am

Dude! So sorry I started the thread. You always make me laugh.

0 points
0
0
FITZCORE1252's EVO's picture

July 27, 2012 at 01:01 pm

Lol. I'm glad you started it Mark!

0 points
0
0