Thompson said medical specialists do not believe he fits the profile of someone suffering from CTEGETTY IMAGES
Packers Senior Advisor TED THOMPSON yesterday revealed that he has been "suffering from an autonomic disorder and it is the primary reason he is no longer leading the team's football operation." Thompson, the team's former GM, said medical specialists do not believe he fits the "profile of someone suffering" from CTE. Autonomic disorders can "occur alone or as the result of another disease, such as Parkinson's disease, alcoholism and diabetes." Thompson did not say whether a "specific disease or illness caused the disorder or whether the many tests he underwent revealed a cause" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 5/9).
TIME AFTER TIME: Former FIFA President SEPP BLATTER has a "strangely personal dispute" with the organization "over the fate of dozens of luxury watches that he said he was unable to retrieve from FIFA headquarters after he was forced out" in '15. Blatter said that he has grown so frustrated over FIFA's "failure to return as many as 80 watches" that he was "including them in a lawsuit he plans to file against the organization that also will include demands for pension payments and clarification about his compensation arrangements." Blatter said that the watches have "high sentimental and monetary value" to him. He estimated that each watch is "worth $5,000 to $20,000." Blatter's watches are "not the only belongings of ousted officials that have remained at FIFA." Late former FIFA exec CHUCK BLAZER's vintage Mercedes "remains in its parking space in FIFA's subterranean garage" (NYTIMES.com, 5/8).
THE GOOD STUFF: Cowboys RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT was "one of three NFL athletes who called and offered" to help the family of JAYLON MCKENZIE pay for his funeral. McKenzie on Saturday was "shot to death at a party after a middle school dance," after being named in November by SI as one of "six athletes who would rule the future of sports." The other two athletes who offered to help pay for the funeral "asked to stay anonymous" (STLTODAY.com, 5/8)....Panthers TE GREG OLSEN’s foundation donated $2.5M to the Atrium Health’s Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte. The funds will go toward a pediatric cardiovascular and congenital heart outpatient clinic (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com)....Tigers P MATT BOYD and wife, ASHLEY, created a nonprofit last year, Kingdom Hope, which supports a woman in Uganda who had "rescued 36 girls from a variety of tragic situations ranging from sex slavery to forced marriages to abandonment" (DETROITNEWS.com, 5/8)....Dodgers P RICH HILL joined skateboarder JORDYN BARRATT at Edgewood Academy in La Puente, Calif., for a "school assembly in support of Shred Hate, a bullying prevention program" (MLB.com, 5/8).
NAMES: Former MLBer BOBBY JENKS will receive $5.1M to “settle a claim that he suffered a career-ending spine injury when a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital operated on his back while overseeing another operation at the same time.” The out-of-court settlement was reached yesterday, the “day before his medical malpractice suit was to go to trial in Boston” (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 5/8)....VENUS WILLIAMS has invested in self-care product company Asutra and has become its Chief Brand Officer (WWD.com, 5/8)....The Steelers and Lelands are “auctioning off more memorabilia from the team archives, including game-worn jerseys” sported by Pro Football HOFers LYNN SWANN, TERRY BRADSHAW and FRANCO HARRIS, among others. The Steelers collection contains 28 items. Another item up for auction is a ’92-93 game-worn MARIO LEMIEUX Penguins jersey (TRIBLIVE.com, 5/8)....Former MLSer BRIAN CHING announced plans for a casual, dog-friendly neighborhood bar” in Houston called East End Backyard (HOUSTONCHRONICLE.com, 5/8).
