Let's Honor Our Military & NFL Vets Everyday
Boy, we sure can heap tons of patriotic attention and hoopla onto our military veterans during holidays and championship football games. Sometimes, I'm amazed by how we celebrate their greatness. We honor our veterans with uniformed marching guards, giant flickering flags, nationalistic songs, and speeding jet fighters roaring overtop sparkling new capacity filled stadiums.
For over half a year on every Sunday we worship our gridiron greats as they sacrifice their bodies and souls for the game we love in the country we love – all for our entertainment.
But what happens after the last whistle? What’s life really like when the lights go out? What ensues after the very last satellite truck rolls out of town? Where do we go after the championship and welcome home parades are over?
We go shopping at the promenades and malls of America trying not to see the homeless military vets living in the alleyways. We step over men and women sleeping in the streets on our way back to the car with our new toys that we really can’t afford. We kick the homeless to the curb while holding our breath to avoid inhaling the stench of urine then speed away into the night driving gas guzzling SUV’s with “Support Our Troops” bumper stickers.
Since this is a sports column, I won’t get political but it must be pointed out that it is us, the American public, who pays for and subsidizes all of these new mega sports venues with our tax dollars while already rich owners fleece us and get richer. Our tax dollars are also supposed to provide excellent medical care for military vets but something has gone very wrong. The next time you get the chance, go check out and visit your local VA hospital. Most likely, the buildings are old and crumbling, the medical equipment is outdated, and the entire program is mismanaged and woefully under funded.
I’ll just mention one more fact about military veterans then back to sports – according the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs almost one-third of the homeless population have served their country in the Armed Service. Enough said.
Meanwhile, many NFL vets will never stroll along the promenades or malls of America because they can no longer walk. Many NFL vets can’t even step up high enough to get their foot onto the curb.
So, what happens to 300 pound men who live with constant pain and can’t go to the bathroom without help or reach down to tie their own shoes? They sit in darkened rooms losing their minds while popping pain pills that they’ve paid for by pawning off all their belongings because their insurance and pensions has evaporated.
And what happens when they can’t pay the rent and lose everything including their families? They fall through the cracks and join the ranks of the homeless right next to their fellow homeless military veterans living in tattered sleeping bags.
This must stop! These insane, cruel, shameless heart breaking stories must change immediately.
Most of us have heard horror stories about the mental and physical problems of former NFL players and how they suffer yet somehow we still believe that our former football gods must be fine and are doing pretty well since they played in the richest league in the world. After all, they are paid millions for doing something they love. They are treated like stars for the rest of their lives and their families are set for generations, right?
Wrong.
The battle between players and both the NFL and the Players Union over pensions and disability health care has been raging for decades. Only way too recently has the taboo subject bubbled up in the news because of the advocacy of a few brave outspoken former players like Hall of Famer Mike Ditka, former Pro Bowler-turned-often-injured journeyman Kyle Turley, and celebrated tough dude former St. Louis Cardinal lineman Conrad Dobler.
Dobler recently spoke in front of 30 former players including Ditka, Turley and among others Hall of Famers Mean Joe Greene, Carl Eller, Harry Carson, Willie Davis, and Gale Sayers. Also present was past Super Bowl playmakers Don Maynard and Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson.
Dobler says he's paid for his playing days with 17 surgeries and five knee replacements. He is 90% disabled and struggles to make ends meet on an NFL pension that pays players of his era – a lousy $100 a month for each year of NFL service. Dobler started applying for and being turned down for disability when he was 42.
Today, Dobler is 57-years-old.
During a recent press conference Dobler, who made the list for dirtiest-player-ever half-joked, half-groaned, "I've been turned down more than all the sheets at the Marriott."
Recently, a dear friend of my wife, actress Tara Joyce, who by the way, appears in the new Joan Rivers play in Westwood at the Geffen Theatre, called and asked if I’d seen the latest episode of HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel about the nightmarish lives of two wives and one ex-wife of former NFL players who struggle daily with their husbands’ physical and mental problems. I had watched the heart wrenching segment intitled Family Burden by correspondent Jon Frankel and it was extremely moving.
We discussed the terrible events and how after the NFL the wives lives are far from glamorous or wildly successful. All three players careers in the report ended because of physical and mental ailments caused by injuries and pain.
One player, former Kansas City Chief Joe Phillips, began drinking heavily after realizing he could no longer live without playing. Now, the former United Way spokesman is a wanted fugitive in multiple states for drinking and driving. When he was ordered to appear in court, he simply disappeared into thin air.
That’s a pretty good trick for a 6’5” 300 pound man.
His wife Cindy Phillips said, "...that while he played his compulsion was working out and staying in shape but after retiring his compulsion quickly turned into bad and destructive habits. It was like he snapped and replaced the thrill and violence of playing with drugs and by hanging out with people he’d never associate with before." She said he became verbally, physically, and sexually abusive too. Cindy and their three kids haven’t seen him for the last two years.
Another story tells of Brandi Winans, the ex-wife of former Super Bowl champ Jeff Winans and how she has lived in fear for years after Jeff’s mind turned cloudy and dark after being knocked out 11 times from suffering concussions. He too became abusive and violent and experienced black-outs after downing painkillers by the bottle to deal with his constant pain.
And then there’s the sad tale of Autumn DeMarco, the wife of 35-year-old former Michigan State standout lineman and five-year NFL veteran Brian DeMarco. She tearfully recalls the time she and her family were forced to live in a storage unit. And how Brian can’t even use the bathroom without Autumn's help. She saved his life when she found him trying to hang himself with a belt after he became hell bent on collecting a life insurance policy because he thought he was worth more dead than alive.
It’s not only former players and their wives that suffer – its entire families.
Take the unfortunate story of Garrett Webster, the son of the late great former Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers’ center “Iron” Mike Webster, who testified in front of Congress that his father had suffered from mental illness that was widely attributed to head injuries.
"I would give my life to never see another family end up like mine," Webster said.
Hopefully, by exposing the tragic truth of these former NFL veterans' lives, we will no longer sweep their stories under the field turf. Like our homeless military veteran brothers and sisters - they have been ignored.
Tara, a native Chicago Bears fan, ended our conversation with a great idea. She wondered what if every NFL fan could give a dollar to a fund that helps the former players. I told her it was a terrific thought and I’d look into the subject. It turns out she is on to something because there is such a fund. It’s called the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, an organization founded by former Green Bay Packer Jerry Kramer to give help and financial assistance to retired players who are in dire need.
I doubt the NFL, the Players Union, or the owners are able to feel shame but maybe, if each one of us gives a little donation to the men and thier families who sacrifice so much for our entertainment, we can put an end this ridiculous situation.
We go shopping at the promenades and malls of America trying not to see the homeless military vets living in the alleyways. We step over men and women sleeping in the streets on our way back to the car with our new toys that we really can’t afford. We kick the homeless to the curb while holding our breath to avoid inhaling the stench of urine then speed away into the night driving gas guzzling SUV’s with “Support Our Troops” bumper stickers.
Since this is a sports column, I won’t get political but it must be pointed out that it is us, the American public, who pays for and subsidizes all of these new mega sports venues with our tax dollars while already rich owners fleece us and get richer. Our tax dollars are also supposed to provide excellent medical care for military vets but something has gone very wrong. The next time you get the chance, go check out and visit your local VA hospital. Most likely, the buildings are old and crumbling, the medical equipment is outdated, and the entire program is mismanaged and woefully under funded.
I’ll just mention one more fact about military veterans then back to sports – according the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs almost one-third of the homeless population have served their country in the Armed Service. Enough said.
Meanwhile, many NFL vets will never stroll along the promenades or malls of America because they can no longer walk. Many NFL vets can’t even step up high enough to get their foot onto the curb.
So, what happens to 300 pound men who live with constant pain and can’t go to the bathroom without help or reach down to tie their own shoes? They sit in darkened rooms losing their minds while popping pain pills that they’ve paid for by pawning off all their belongings because their insurance and pensions has evaporated.
And what happens when they can’t pay the rent and lose everything including their families? They fall through the cracks and join the ranks of the homeless right next to their fellow homeless military veterans living in tattered sleeping bags.
This must stop! These insane, cruel, shameless heart breaking stories must change immediately.
Most of us have heard horror stories about the mental and physical problems of former NFL players and how they suffer yet somehow we still believe that our former football gods must be fine and are doing pretty well since they played in the richest league in the world. After all, they are paid millions for doing something they love. They are treated like stars for the rest of their lives and their families are set for generations, right?
Wrong.
The battle between players and both the NFL and the Players Union over pensions and disability health care has been raging for decades. Only way too recently has the taboo subject bubbled up in the news because of the advocacy of a few brave outspoken former players like Hall of Famer Mike Ditka, former Pro Bowler-turned-often-injured journeyman Kyle Turley, and celebrated tough dude former St. Louis Cardinal lineman Conrad Dobler.
Dobler recently spoke in front of 30 former players including Ditka, Turley and among others Hall of Famers Mean Joe Greene, Carl Eller, Harry Carson, Willie Davis, and Gale Sayers. Also present was past Super Bowl playmakers Don Maynard and Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson.
Dobler says he's paid for his playing days with 17 surgeries and five knee replacements. He is 90% disabled and struggles to make ends meet on an NFL pension that pays players of his era – a lousy $100 a month for each year of NFL service. Dobler started applying for and being turned down for disability when he was 42.
Today, Dobler is 57-years-old.
During a recent press conference Dobler, who made the list for dirtiest-player-ever half-joked, half-groaned, "I've been turned down more than all the sheets at the Marriott."
Recently, a dear friend of my wife, actress Tara Joyce, who by the way, appears in the new Joan Rivers play in Westwood at the Geffen Theatre, called and asked if I’d seen the latest episode of HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel about the nightmarish lives of two wives and one ex-wife of former NFL players who struggle daily with their husbands’ physical and mental problems. I had watched the heart wrenching segment intitled Family Burden by correspondent Jon Frankel and it was extremely moving.
We discussed the terrible events and how after the NFL the wives lives are far from glamorous or wildly successful. All three players careers in the report ended because of physical and mental ailments caused by injuries and pain.
One player, former Kansas City Chief Joe Phillips, began drinking heavily after realizing he could no longer live without playing. Now, the former United Way spokesman is a wanted fugitive in multiple states for drinking and driving. When he was ordered to appear in court, he simply disappeared into thin air.
That’s a pretty good trick for a 6’5” 300 pound man.
His wife Cindy Phillips said, "...that while he played his compulsion was working out and staying in shape but after retiring his compulsion quickly turned into bad and destructive habits. It was like he snapped and replaced the thrill and violence of playing with drugs and by hanging out with people he’d never associate with before." She said he became verbally, physically, and sexually abusive too. Cindy and their three kids haven’t seen him for the last two years.
Another story tells of Brandi Winans, the ex-wife of former Super Bowl champ Jeff Winans and how she has lived in fear for years after Jeff’s mind turned cloudy and dark after being knocked out 11 times from suffering concussions. He too became abusive and violent and experienced black-outs after downing painkillers by the bottle to deal with his constant pain.
And then there’s the sad tale of Autumn DeMarco, the wife of 35-year-old former Michigan State standout lineman and five-year NFL veteran Brian DeMarco. She tearfully recalls the time she and her family were forced to live in a storage unit. And how Brian can’t even use the bathroom without Autumn's help. She saved his life when she found him trying to hang himself with a belt after he became hell bent on collecting a life insurance policy because he thought he was worth more dead than alive.
It’s not only former players and their wives that suffer – its entire families.
Take the unfortunate story of Garrett Webster, the son of the late great former Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers’ center “Iron” Mike Webster, who testified in front of Congress that his father had suffered from mental illness that was widely attributed to head injuries.
"I would give my life to never see another family end up like mine," Webster said.
Hopefully, by exposing the tragic truth of these former NFL veterans' lives, we will no longer sweep their stories under the field turf. Like our homeless military veteran brothers and sisters - they have been ignored.
Tara, a native Chicago Bears fan, ended our conversation with a great idea. She wondered what if every NFL fan could give a dollar to a fund that helps the former players. I told her it was a terrific thought and I’d look into the subject. It turns out she is on to something because there is such a fund. It’s called the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, an organization founded by former Green Bay Packer Jerry Kramer to give help and financial assistance to retired players who are in dire need.
I doubt the NFL, the Players Union, or the owners are able to feel shame but maybe, if each one of us gives a little donation to the men and thier families who sacrifice so much for our entertainment, we can put an end this ridiculous situation.
~ ~ ~
By the way, I already sent a donation to the Gridiron Greats. Now I can enjoy watching the Super Bowl with a slightly less guilty conscience.
The link to Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund is: http://www.gridirongreats.org/
If you subscribe to HBO, try watching Real Sports w/ Bryant Gumbel. It's a great show.
The link for Real Sports w/ Bryant Gumbel is: http://www.hbo.com/realsports/index.html.
Enjoy Super Bowl Sunday.
Please read The Hustle.
And remember... give peace a chance.
By the way, I already sent a donation to the Gridiron Greats. Now I can enjoy watching the Super Bowl with a slightly less guilty conscience.
The link to Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund is: http://www.gridirongreats.org/
If you subscribe to HBO, try watching Real Sports w/ Bryant Gumbel. It's a great show.
The link for Real Sports w/ Bryant Gumbel is: http://www.hbo.com/realsports/index.html.
Enjoy Super Bowl Sunday.
Please read The Hustle.
And remember... give peace a chance.
Labels: Sports
posted by The Hustle at
12:29 AM
2 Comments
