A survey of retired NFLers "found that nearly nine in 10 report suffering from aches and pains on a daily basis, and they overwhelmingly -- 91 percent -- connect nearly all their pains to football," according to Jenkins, Maese & Clement of the WASHINGTON POST. The newspaper's online survey of more than 500 retired players "paints a rare portrait of the toll a career in the NFL has on the long-term health of those who competed in the bruising game." The results also "present a striking paradox: Nine in 10 said they’re happy they played the sport," but "fewer than half would recommend children play it today." The Post also "conducted extensive interviews with more than three dozen retired NFL players." Most said that they "accepted a certain amount of pain as the fair exchange for football’s compensations." In the survey, 46% of players said that they would "recommend children play youth or high school football today," while 30% said that they would "neither recommend nor discourage it" (WASHINGTON POST, 5/19).
NO LOVE LOST: The Patriots last week released DT Kyle Love after he was diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes, and while SI's Jim Trotter called it a "classless move" by the franchise, he noted NFL teams are “protecting themselves from a liability standpoint with these players and their health." Trotter said, “Look at these concussion lawsuits. ... From what I’ve been told, some teams are already taking out insurance to protect themselves in case they lose that lawsuit. So from that standpoint, this doesn’t surprise me” (“Rome,” CBS Sports Network, 5/17).
