Gale Sayers, Former Hall of Famer sues NFL over brain injuries | FanIQ
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Gale Sayers, who played running back and was on special teams as a return specialist for Chicago Bears registered a federal lawsuit against the National Football League. The lawsuit claims the NFL did not caution him about head injuries that are inclusive of concussions he received during his eight year career.
He is the youngest inductee for the Hall of Fame and with 22 touchdowns holds the record for most in a rookie season, highest number of touchdowns and return touchdowns in a game.
The lawsuit was registered on Friday at a federal court and arrives only three weeks later after the NFL decided to give $765 million in a bid to end a combined lawsuit which was registered by thousands of NFL players, mostly retired.
The players who filed the suit complained they suffered from many physical and mental health problems which were diagnosed to be resulting from NFL injuries sustained during matches. The suit claims the NFL covers up the real hazards of brain injuries from players.
Gale Sayers is 70 now and is suffering from short-term memory loss, migraines and many other mentally impairing conditions which are diagnosed to be resultant of recurring shock to the head. He attributes these to the many concussions he suffered during his career.
The suit also claims that the NFL gave no warning that playing during such head trauma would lead to irreversible brain injury.
He accuses the NFL in his lawsuit for bypassing and even violating policies which determine if a player is fit to hit the field again. He adds that on certain occasion he was pushed to go back in the game. Helmet manufacturer Riddell is also blamed for not warning about results of concussions and that helmets do not protect against concussions.
It demands that Riddell manufacturers remunerate Sayers for $50,000 including court expenses. The lawsuit does not give specific demands of payment for damages against NFL.
Sayers was dubbed the Kansas Comet and was an active member for the Bears from 1965 to 1972. He retired following a string of knee injuries from which he was unable to recover properly. He was a Pro Bowler four times. In 1977 he was added to the Pro Football Hall of Famers.
"I am Third” was published in 1970, a memoir by Sayers which covered his ascension to the Fame in football and his friendship with Brian Piccolo, a Bears co-player who died due to cancer.