NFL plea: former players’ lawsuits not stand merit filing under CBA – NFL News
The National Football League (NFL), the representative body of 32 American football franchises, has defended its concussion policies against the lawsuits filed by its former players, saying all those policies are governed by the collective bargaining agreement
(CBA) it had reached with the players.
The apparent defence of its policies by the league office has come in the context of its plea before the court, seeking dismissal of the lawsuits on grounds that the CBA terms prevent the players from doing so.
"You don't get to come to court," NFL’s lawyer, Beth Wilkinson, said. "They should go through the process that's laid out in the agreement."
Wilkinson was speaking after hearing of an application by the NFL, seeking consolidation of all lawsuits to be heard before the US District Judge, Anita Brody.
The six-judge panel pondered upon the possibility of unifying 21 players’ lawsuits with more than 300 plaintiffs, who include former players and their family members. The panel was unable to reach a decision as the hearing continued.
Almost all NFL players in the lawsuits, filed in six respective US states, have attacked the league’s concussion policies and accused the office of hiding the injuries, allowing pre-game excessive use of pain killers and linking of head injuries with other
problems such as dementia.
Coming into defence of its policies, the league office has pleaded dismissal of all the lawsuits. It maintained in its appeal before the court that labour laws dictate the players for calling mediation or arbitration in the disputes around the issue of players’
safety.
The latest defensive strategy adopted by the NFL has come after its earlier reiteration that the players’ safety had always been its priority and that the office has launched a number of measures to protect the players from head and other injuries.
One of its recent steps is placing of a certified athletic trainer at press box to assist teams’ medical staff in monitoring, assessing and treatment of players for concussion.
The decision of appointing observes came after the inquiry of NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA) over handling of Cleveland Browns’ quarterback, Colt McCoy’s head injury by his team’s medical and coaching staff.
McCoy had suffered a concussion as a result of a helmet hit by Pittsburgh Steelers’ linebacker, James Harrison. He was allowed back on the field to resume his game by his team’s medical staff without inspecting him for the head injury.
The inquiry ended without recommendation of any penalty on the Browns and the NFL office came under fire over the leniency it had shown against the team management in spite of the findings that pointed out at the system failure at the team’s headquarters.
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