Is the NFL a Drug Cartel?
During the 2010 NFL Player lockout the NFL Players
Association called the NFL a "Cartel" on numerous occasions.
In a 60 Minutes interview, Roger Goodell basically acknowledged that when he said "The NFL is essentially a cartel, albeit a legal one, thanks to a limited exemption from anti-trust laws granted by Congress more than 50 years ago."
Using the term "cartel" was probably not the best choice of words when you consider that the NFL has been accused in a new Class Action Lawsuit of pushing drugs on players and unlawfully dispensing drugs within the League.
Being called a "drug pusher" is a public relations nightmare for the NFL.
Unfortunately for Commissioner Goodell and the NFL, the news gets worse.
There is now a Federal investigation that is looking into the prescription drug abuse in NFL locker rooms. That investigation could determine whether the League and the 32 NFL teams are really a "legal cartel."
Check out this definition of a drug cartel from Wikipedia:
"Drug cartel is a criminal organization developed with the primary purpose of promoting and controlling drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises."
If you insert NFL for "drug cartel" and NFL teams for "drug traffickers" in the previous paragraph, you wouldn't be too far off the mark. They don't actually make the drugs, they get them from manufacturers. The problem is they don't do a very good job when it comes to guarding the medicine cabinet.
Steve Silverman, the attorney for former players in the Drug lawsuit, also makes allegations that NFL training rooms have become drug markets. In an article entitled - NFL training & locker rooms are drug markets - he is quoted as saying "The NFL is going to have to change the game and they have no choice. We are not talking about player responsibility we are talking about a drug cartel."
I assume that the DEA will conduct the investigation and that it will focus on who provided the drugs and if they were administered without proper prescriptions, in illegal doses, without medical supervision and with little or no explanation of risks and dangers.
If criminal charges arise out of the Federal investigation, it will only strengthen the Class Action drug lawsuit and push the NFL to work as quickly as possible for a Settlement.
If the lawyers are smart, they will let the investigation runs its course and use the findings to bolster their case. As former players, we all know what was happening in the locker rooms and the airplane trips back home after games.
Just like the NFL concussion Settlement, the NFL doesn't want the truth about their role in this issue to see the light of day. As with all Settlements, the defendant – in this case the NFL – will have wording in the Settlement that absolves them of any and all liability and of course - no admission of guilt.
Just like the concussion issue, former players have spoken out. In doing so, we have made the game safer for active players. You can bet your bottom dollar the NFL has been very busy revising their policies and procedures for prescribing and dispensing drugs.
I hope the active players will remember what we have done for them when they go back to the bargaining table in 2020.
One last thing.
It's interesting to see fan comments about the new drug litigation that are posted under articles about the subject. I estimate that 90% of them look at this as just another money grab by NFL players. I send them this article Pain and pain management in NFL spawn a culture of prescription drug use and abuse and tell them to take two asprin, call me in the morning and apologize for their ignorance. Most fans - especially those that never played football - have no idea what kind of pressure is put on a player to get back on the field and play with injuries.
I can easily forgive someone who doesn't know the facts, but for fans that know the facts and are still jealous, mean-spirited and wouldn't know the truth if it ran into them like a 350 pound lineman, all I can say is this:
You used to cheer for us at games and sometimes at home on your comfortable coach, with a beer in your hand, in your air-condition man cave, safely playing Madden Football as a pre-game warm up, wearing a $250 authentic NFL jersey of your favorite former player who now needs crutches to get around.
I know you have no use for us anymore...... and even though we entertained you for years by ramming our heads into each other, I don't think you understand the price we paid. You don't really want to know who we are and what we have done in our lives. You would prefer to think that all of us are overpaid cry-babys that mismanaged our money and are now looking for an easy payday. Nothing could be further from the truth.....but for some reason it makes you feel better to embrace the lie you've been told.
When I go to games I see you playing touch football in the parking lot, getting ready to watch the newest meat on the market, but you've forgotten about the old gladiators that put cheer into your heart every Sunday – especially the ones that now have Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS and dementia. You say it's a dangerous game and we knew what we were getting into. Do you say the same thing to a policeman, a fireman or a construction worker when they are injured and sue their employer for negligence?
I want you to know that we loved you and appreciated you when we ran out of that tunnel and heard the roar of your applause. You paid good money to watch us - and indirectly, you paid our salaries by buying a season ticket, an individual ticket, paying for parking, a program, an overpriced beer, a souvenir, or that old jersey that now hangs in the back of your closet.
It's time to shake the dust off that old jersey and remember that we put our bodies on the line.... to put a smile on your face. Now, all we ask is that you try to understand what we are doing. The NFL is not just a sport......it's a business. And like all business', it has laws that it must follow.
So before you pass judgment on us and question our motives, let's see what the courts have to say about the new drug lawsuit. Even though you complained and belly-ached, we showed you that our concussion lawsuits were valid and justified. That's the only reason the NFL Settled.
So please, try not to get too emotionally involved in our lawsuit. Let us work it out. The next time you post a comment, write about the good things you remember about former players.
We remember the cheers you gave us...... and for that, we will always be grateful.
