Lawyer in NFL concussion deal says an appeal would be 'selfish'
By Steve Ginsburg
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - A major architect of the landmark concussion settlement reached with the National Football League on behalf of retired players said on Thursday it would be "selfish" for anyone to appeal the deal.
Christopher Seeger, co-lead counsel for the retired NFL players, said if even one of the 5,000 players involved in the settlement filed an appeal, benefits would probably be held up a year.
U.S. District Judge Anita Brody on Wednesday approved the settlement of a lawsuit brought by the former players who accused the NFL of keeping secret the dangers of concussions.
Seeger said appeals were unlikely to succeed because Brody, who has worked on the case since 2013 and twice sent it back to lawyers to be reworked, gave the deal the green light.
"Appeals, in my view, are just wasting the time of people who are very sick, like Kevin Turner," Seeger said of the former NFL fullback who suffers from ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.
"For a small group of guys to hold up the 99 percent that have accepted the deal, well, it would just be selfish."
Concussions have been a hot-button issue in the NFL. The settlement allows for awards of up to $5 million per retired player for serious medical conditions associated with repeated head trauma.
The deal could cost the league, whose annual revenues are nearly $10 billion, about $1 billion over 65 years.
Attorney Jason Luckasevic, who represents about 550 players in the settlement, called the deal "bittersweet."
"There's so much more that could have and should have been done for these players who suffer serious and permanent cognitive and behavioral mental handicaps," he said.
"How about the guys that are out there that occasionally forget the name of their friend, or their grocery list and have days that are very dark and depressing because they are still living an independent life? They get nothing," he said.
Dave Pear, 61, a Pro Bowl defensive lineman for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Super Bowl champion with the Oakland Raiders, called the settlement price tag "a nuisance fee" for the NFL.
Pear, who retired after the 1980 season, has had 13 surgeries on his spine and suffers from dementia, vertigo and memory loss. He will receive a share of the settlement but does not know how much.
"My recommendation to parents? Don't ever let your kids play football," he said.
(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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