Gale Sayers, former star running back for the Chicago Bears, has reportedly sued the NFL. The legendary runner sued the NFL on Friday, claiming the league negligently handled the injuries that he repeatedly suffered to the head. The Hall of Famer played in the league for seven years. The NFL has been blamed in a number of lawsuits before this, as the game of football continues to be extremely dangerous for players, especially quarterbacks and running backs.
Sayers was reportedly sent back into games after receiving a concussion, which is clearly the fault of the NFL and cannot be allowed. In the lawsuit he filed Friday in the U.S. district court of Chicago, he said that he has suffered headaches and short-term memory loss, since retiring from the league, reports the Chicago Tribune. Sayers spent his college career at Kansas and earned himself the nickname of “The Kansas Comet.”
NFL News: Gale Sayers Suing NFL, Riddell for Causing Brain Damage http://t.co/P05oK0PRtr #NFL #BreakingNews
— Bert Fentress (@bfentress) September 21, 2013
As a number of other players have also complained of the NFL withholding information, Sayers also mentions that the NFL didn’t do enough to warn him that playing through concussions could cause permanent brain damage. According to ESPN, at the end of August, the NFL came to a settlement relating to concussion-related injuries, among its 18,000 retired players. The settlement was a total of $765 million, which was designed to compensate victims, pay for medical exams and underwrite research.
One young fan who clearly doesn’t get it, took to twitter and reacted to the news. It seems like he could have done a bit of research and realized that Sayers is clearly not the only one who has done such a thing. This is a very serious issue in the NFL and needs to be continually addressed as the injuries continue to pile up, especially in the current season.
How is Gale Sayers going to sue the NFL for brain damage? They didn't force him to play football. It was his choice. What a joke.
— Austin Boyd (@AustinCBoyd) September 21, 2013
His career with the Bears lasted from 1965-1972, when he earned five All-Pro honors and two rushing titles. Sayers was born in Wichita, Kansas, but was raised in Omaha, Nebraska. A couple of his major records include most touchdowns in a rookie season (22) and most touchdowns in a game (6). The lawsuit is also being extended to helmet maker Riddell, allegedly being blamed for failing to prevent repeated head injuries that he suffered while playing, states CBS Chicago.
Sayers’ friendship with teammate Brian Piccolo and Piccolo’s cancer was documented in the made-for-TV movie, Brian’s Song. Brian’s Song was originally released in 1971 when Sayers was still playing and was remade in 2001.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B68BFI2gLCI
Image via Youtube