10 Former NFL Players File Lawsuit Against League Over Disability Claims
By Jason Hall
February 10, 2023
A group of former NFL players have filed a lawsuit against the league over accusations that they were routinely denied of disability claims, CBS News reports.
The lawsuit, which names former players Willis McGahee, Eric Smith, Jason Alford, Daniel Loper, Michael McKenzie, Jamize Olawale, Alex Parsons, Charles Sims, Joey Thomas and Lance Zeno as plaintiffs, accuses the NFL's benefits plan, the league's board of trustees and Commissioner Roger Goodell of "repeated lies; material misrepresentations; active concealment; flagrant violations of" statues, regulations and case law, as well as "illogical interpretations of the terms" of the benefits plan. The lawsuit also claims that "reliance on conflicted advisors" have led to "a pattern of systemic bias" against disabled NFL players in need of support.
"Plaintiffs seek to pull back the curtain on behalf of all similarly situated former NFL Players, bringing many relevant factual and legal issues concerning the Plan to light," the group said in the lawsuit via CBS News.
The plaintiffs accuse the NFL's board of trustees of being "motivated by financial considerations to limit the payment of benefits" provided through the plan. Several legal teams, including attorney Chris Seeger, who previously won $1 billion for former players in a 2016 NFL concussion settlement, are representing the group of plaintiffs.
The lawsuit demands that the plaintiffs receive the amount of money they are owed in benefits and intends to prohibit additional violations from taking place in the future.