The Hall of Fame Speech Junior Seau’s Daughter Couldn’t Give … Roger Goodell and the NFL Get It Wrong Again … NFL Buckles Somewhat to Pressure

SHAME ON YOU NFL , ROGER GOODELL AND THE HALL OF FAME  …

As the NFL Hall of Fame inducted 8 more members into the hallowed halls of Canton, Ohio something his year was definitely not right and should not be brushed over as, oh its just a policy.

Linebacker Junior Seau gave every inch of his body to the NFL and sadly, his brain as well as the hundreds if not thousands of hits caused irreparable damage to his head, mind and health. Seau was a “Super Charger” and one of the games greats who sadly passed away at the age of 43 from suicide and a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest.  As his daughter Sydney Seau said, Junior Seau was an Oceanside Pirate, a U.S.C. Trojan, a Miami Dolphin, a New England Patriot, a San Diego Charger, and now he is, and forever will be, a Pro Football Hall of Famer. His daughter has stated that “the two words that exemplify my dad the most are “passion” and “love.” Everything he achieved, accomplished or set his mind to was done with both qualities. In every situation — whether it be practice, a game, a family barbecue, an impromptu ukulele song or just a run on the Oceanside Strand — he always gave you all of himself because to him, there was never any other option.” For me, as just a fan  that is exactly what I saw him do on the field as a player. Is passion and leadership so late in his career appeared to be like that of someone just starting out their career. Seau played with a passion like every play could be his last and he did not just hang on to hang on. He was an inspiration until he finally retired. I had so hoped in his years with the Patriots that he could finally get that Super Bowl ring he so deserved. However, that was not to be the case.

However, what should have been the case was that Junior Seau’s family should have been able to induct him into the NFL Hall of Fame with a speech. Seau was inducted posthumously, not because he was an 85 year old veteran, but because he committed suicide from the effects of brain damage suffered over his 20 year playing career. But the NFL and the NFL Hall of Fame looked to brush that terrible dirty little secret under the Gold colored blazer. Shame on you!!! Rules are made to be broken, especially when they are for ambassadors of the game like Junior Seau, but the NFL does not want the truth behind brain injuries and damage to players to ever come out.

The New York Times:

In his 20-year N.F.L. career, Junior Seau established himself as one of the game’s greatest linebackers. He committed suicide in 2012 at age 43 and was subsequently found to have had a degenerative brain condition linked to repeated hits to the head. Before his death, Seau told his daughter Sydney that she should speak on his behalf if he made it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But the Hall, citing a five-year-old policy of not letting others give full speeches for deceased inductees, did not allow Sydney to deliver her speech.

Recorded in her hotel room in Canton, Ohio, this is the speech Sydney had hoped to deliver on Saturday at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

I cannot speak for him because I am not him. I have not played in the N.F.L. for one second, let alone 20 years; I do not have past seasons to reminisce about or hilarious locker room stories to joke about. But I do have one thing, and that is unconditional love.

Your Junior Seau, your No. 55 and your buddy, was also my father. And although I didn’t know every aspect of his life, I did know one particular part very well. His athleticism and talent made him extraordinary enough to make it into the Hall, but it is his passion and heart that make him truly legendary and deserving of this tremendous honor. Tonight I would like to honor him and his legendary heart.

What the sad and pathetic NFL suits did not want said live in Canton, Ohio during Hall of Fame induction was the follwoing … Shame on you Roger Goodell and the rest of you low-lifes that would not allow a family to honor one of the NFL’s greatest linebackers because he committed suicide at the hands of the NFL turning a blind eye to concussions and the damage it reeked upon the players. But of course the air in a football is more important.

But I think what we tend to forget about our favorite invincible, unstoppable, indestructible superhumans is the minor detail that they are also human. That is something that we all must endure today without his physical presence. We cannot celebrate his life and achievement without feeling the constant piece that’s missing.

May 2, 2012, we all endured a loss. Thousands lost their all-time favorite linebacker, hundreds lost their favorite Charger, tens lost their buddy, and four lost their father. The reason why this honor is so hard to accept is because we had always envisioned him still being here to accept it.

But something that we all cannot deny is that we are all still here. We can keep working today, we can keep building our tomorrows, and we can keep praying for the rest. This superhumanlike man truly blessed us with one of the most precious gifts he could have given. He gave us his time. With that time, I know he made one hell of an imprint on my life, and from the amount of emotion and love in this room, I think we all could say the same.

Something that is hard for me to admit to myself and to you all is the fact that I miss his singing. I miss his huge mangled hands strumming on his uke, playing the only five chords he knew, to the hundreds of songs he would attempt to sing off-key. I miss him calling me Beau, my girlie middle name, and I miss him hugging me too long and too tightly, almost to the point where I couldn’t breathe.

There’s nothing I want more than to see you walk up on stage, give me a hug and tell me that you love me one last time, but that isn’t our reality. You would always say you loved me, and even after I would respond and say I loved you, too, you would look me in the eyes and say, “I love you; do you hear me?”

Well, after this speech, I hope you can hear us when we say that we love you, and I hope that this induction can exemplify the fact that you were more than just Junior Seau — you were a light, and you’re still mine. This is your speech, your moment and your honor, and to say that I’m the most proud daughter on Earth would be an understatement. Congratulations, Dad; you made it.

UPDATE I: Daughter Honors Seau Onstage at a Celebration Under a Cloud.

Watch the VIDEO here, this is what the NFL was guilted into conceding to do for a man who gave so much to the NFL and the game, including his life.

She received a similar reception Saturday as she paid tribute to her father, who was inducted posthumously, in an onstage interview after the showing of a poignant video featuring family photos and clips of his bone-crushing tackles. It was a concession made by the league, which had said it would not allow her to make an introductory speech.

After the montage, Sydney and Seau’s three sons uncloaked their father’s bronze bust to claps and cheers. Seau’s mother, who sat in the stands, wept.

“You are a light, and I want nothing more than to see you come on stage and give the speech you were meant to give, give me a hug and tell me you love me one last time,” Sydney Seau said, her voice breaking during the interview, which lasted about five minutes. “But that isn’t a reality.”

Make no mistake about it NFL … you knew damn well about the studies of the damages to the brain and what would eventually happen to these players after they retired or even during their playing days. But making money off their bodies and minds was more important to the NFL and those lucrative TV deals. To Roger Goodell and the rest of the NFL suits, do not ever pretend to say you care about the players or the integrity of the game, looking the other way with concussions and the dame it caused to so many players shows exactly what you really think. But the NFL and the commissioners office would rather make a bigger deal over deflated footballs, rather than players committing suicide due to brain damage.

Football Hall of Famer & Former Miami Dolphin QB Dan Marino Sues NFL Over Concussions (Update: Marino Withdraws from Concussion Lawsuit)

DAN MARINO SUES NFL OVER CONCUSSIONS …

Hall of Famer and Miami Dolphin quarterback great Dan Marino is the latest to sue the NFL over concussions. According to court documents, a lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Mariono and 14 other former NFL players. Marino and the other 14 plaintiffs join more than 4,800 others who have alleged the NFL misled players about the long-term dangers of concussions. The NFL has denied those claims. Although no specific symptoms are alleged for Marino in the lawsuit, it does contain language for the QB great, “On information and belief, the Plaintiff … sustained repetitive, traumatic sub-concussive and/or concussive head impacts during NFL games and/or practices.”

CNN – VIDEO

Dan Marino, the Hall of Fame member and former Miami Dolphins quarterback, last week sued the NFL over concussions, according to federal court records.

As the behind-the-scenes effort to gain approval for the proposed $765-million settlement of the concussion litigation continues, Marino and 14 other former players sued in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia.

At least 41 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, or their estates, are among about 5,000 former players suing.

The 18-page complaint alleges the NFL concealed information about football-related brain injuries and misled players, claims that are similar to those made in more than 300 related lawsuits. The NFL has repeatedly denied such claims.

A federal judge rejected the proposed settlement of $765 million in January by the NFL, concerned about whether the settlement amount is sufficient for all affected players. To be honest, $765 does not even come close to what medical bills and treatment would cost over their lifetime. I am not even sure if $2 billion is adequate.

UPDATE I: As reported at CNN, Dan Marino is withdrawing his name from a lawsuit suing the NFL over concussions, saying he didn’t realize his name would be attached to the lawsuit. HUH? Well that’s mighty brave of him. I guess suing the NFL is bad for getting a job with the NFL. Profiles in courage.

Dan Marino, considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in National Football League history, is withdrawing his name from a concussion lawsuit against the NFL, according to published reports.

The news, first reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, comes a day after media reports that the Hall of Fame quarterback and 14 other players had filed a lawsuit that claims the NFL knew for years of a link between concussions and long-term health problems and did nothing about it.

Marino, 52, said he didn’t realize his name would be attached to the lawsuit.

“Within the last year I authorized a claim to be filed on my behalf just in case I needed future medical coverage to protect me and my family in the event I later suffered from the effects of head trauma,” the former Miami Dolphins star wrote in a statement published in the Sun Sentinel and on Sports Illustrated’s website.

Dallas Cowboy Great & NFL Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett Showing Signs of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy)

Former Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett takes on his biggest challenge …

ESPN’s ‘Ouside the Lines’ is reporting that 1976 Heisman Trophy winner, NFL Hall of Famer and former Dallas Cowboy running back Tony Dorsett has been diagnosed with as having signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.  CTE is a degenerative condition caused by head trauma and linked to depression and dementia. What a crying shame. Another football great from days gone by that has been a victim of concussions over his career.  the 59 year old Dorsett played 12 season in the NFL talked about the symptoms that compelled him to seek testing: memory loss, depression and thoughts of suicide. Dorsett discussed his struggles with memory loss and confusion like when he struggled to remember why he was on the plane from Texas to California to get testing. Dorsett also said he gets lost when he drives his two youngest daughters, ages 15 and 10, to their soccer and volleyball games. Sad, so very sad and there are hundreds of former players like this.

Get well Tony, get well all!

Tony Dorsett - click on pic to watch the OTL interview

Pro Football Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett and Joe DeLamielleure, and former NFL All-Pro Leonard Marshall have been diagnosed as having signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative condition many scientists say is caused by head trauma and linked to depression and dementia, doctors have told “Outside the Lines.”

The three former stars underwent brain scans and clinical evaluations during the past three months at UCLA, as did an unidentified ex-player whose test results are not yet available. Last year, UCLA tested five other former players and diagnosed all five as having signs of CTE, marking the first time doctors found signs of the crippling disease in living former players.

CTE is indicated by a buildup of tau, an abnormal protein that strangles brain cells in areas that control memory, emotions and other functions. Autopsies of more than 50 ex-NFL players, including Hall of Famer Mike Webster and perennial All-Pro Junior Seau, who committed suicide last year, found such tau concentrations.

Researchers told “Outside the Lines” that they notified Dorsett by phone Monday that they had diagnosed him as having signs of the neurological disease. Dorsett, in an appearance Wednesday afternoon on ESPN’s “Dan LeBatard Is Highly Questionable” show, acknowledged he had been tested at UCLA and received results: “I’m not going to say too much more about it … I’m trying to be proactive rather than reactive.”

OTL also ininterviewed 62 year old Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure, who had a 13-year career as an offensive lineman for Buffalo and Cleveland and NFL All-Pro Leonard Marshall have also been diagnosed with CTE.

DeLamielleure, 62, said he never received a concussion diagnosis during his 13-year career as an offensive lineman for Buffalo and Cleveland, but that during games and practices he endured tens of thousands of blows to his head and believes he had at least 100 concussions.

On the day he received the news that he has signs of CTE, DeLamielleure told OTL, “I can guarantee you my CTE, my tau, came from hits, came from blows to the head.” He said he suffers from anxiety and chronic insomnia, and, like Dorsett, he recounted mood swings and suicidal thoughts.

“When I sit still for any length of time, I get depressed for no reason,” DeLamielleure said. “I have CTE. Let’s see what the heck we can do about it.”

Marshall, 52, told “Outside the Lines” that when he received his diagnosis Sunday it was “very emotional.”

Sorry, but I am a firm believer in two things when it comes to the NFL and concussions. One, every player in today’s game who makes a ridiculous amount of money owes part of their pay check to those that made the game great and built the NFL into what it is today and who have obviously suffered the consequences. Two, the NFL should be ashamed of itself because they had to of known about the dangers of concussions and head injuries to players. But their answer today, is to make the game soft, can’t hit the QB, can’t hit defenseless receivers, can’t touch the helmet, etc. That’s fine for the skilled players, but what about the offensive and defensive players in the trenches where ever play is like an organized rumble?

However, the answer is not to take away the hitting in the NFL. Sorry, but like it or not, it is a violent sport. I have played the game from Pee-wees, to high school, to college and trust me, its a pretty hard hitting and yes I have had my fair share of concussions over the years. So much so that in college I switched to rugby for less violence. That would be a joke. But my point being is that the more the NFL makes the equipment and helmets better, the more they make it possible for players to hit harder. And hit they will. How else do they expect to get on ESPN, Inside the NFL and the other football highlight shows? In many respects, because the NFL wanted for marketing purposes to see higher scores and video game offenses, rather than any semblance of defense … they have made the game faster.