Legal Representation for NFL Players
Steve Smith (pictured), former Running Back for the Raiders and Seahawks, died at age 57 after battling ALS for 20 years.
For many professional football players, life after football can be a struggle. Many players started playing as early as age 5 or 6 with one goal...to make it to the NFL. However, even the most determined and talented are not guaranteed a spot when the odds of a student-athlete going pro is less than 0.1%. When a player does make it on a roster, the competition to remain on the roster is just as challenging. Imagine that level of pressure on a 22 or 23 year-old. Players are lucky if they have a choice to end their careers as the decision is usually made for them...a career-ending injury or they are cut without warning.
The average career span of an NFL player is 3.3 years with certain positions such as running back averaging only 2.7 years due to the violent nature of the position. Even with the seemingly fortuitous careers many have been blessed with, the permanent irreversible damage to players' bodies and brains often become their unfortunate life-long realities.
My clients' injuries vary from broken necks, fractured vertebrae, partial paralysis, to a whole host of orthopedic conditions. Neurological conditions caused by repeated head trauma include ALS, Alzheimers, Meniere's Disease, Dementia and CTE. Dr. Bennet Omalu who discovered CTE in Hall of Famer Mike Webster after conducting his brain autopsy, reminded me that no matter what improvements are made to football helmets, there is no way to protect the brain from hitting the skull.
Ricky here with former Eagles teammate Kevin Turner in 1998, who died at age 46, after a multi-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which had been triggered by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Representing former players and fighting for the benefits they deserve is not only a career choice, it's a life choice for me. I've watched my husband and his teammates and those who paved the way before them, give their heart and soul and "lives" to the game.
As an attorney and NFL wife, I can relate to what players and their loved ones are going through. I see the pain, anxiety, frustration and sleepless nights caused by thousands of hits to the body and brain. These players exhibited Superhuman skills on the field, but are in fact human beings who played a gladiator sport.
“Integrity. The choice between what's convenient and what's right.”
— Tony Dungy