Concussions, Race, and the NFL (Update)

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Sony Music

True Crime, Tv & Film, Society & Culture

4.8 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2022

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Since we aired this episode in November 2021, the story has progressed, and Alzo will provide an update on the options injured Black players now have to get fair compensation from the NFL. The NFL’s 2013 class-action settlement with retired players over claims that the League concealed a connection between game-related hits to the head and long-term cognitive damage was the first of its kind in sports history. Players experiencing head trauma would finally have some recourse and support. However, the process for evaluating players’ claims incorporated a controversial scoring system called race-norming. And it turns out these race norms made it harder for Black players to qualify for awards. A Somethin’ Else Production. Exclusive! Grab the NordVPN deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/cheat Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Cheat listeners, we got an update on the NFL settlement last month, so we wanted
0:11.6	to share this episode with you again, and give you more details at the end about what
0:16.0	the update means.
0:17.8	Enjoy.
0:18.8	I broke both my wrist, I played all four years in my college career with Cas on my ass.
0:24.6	This is Lewis Leonard.
0:26.0	He played five years in the NFL for 16s, in 2010 he retired.
0:31.5	I played defensive line, defensive line, you have to hit a person with your hands and
0:36.7	you have to control them, and that's how you play the position.
0:39.9	Well, I have zero mobility in my wrist, so I can't even do a push-up on the ground.
0:47.0	So instead of using my hands, I have to use my head, so there was countless times that
0:51.8	I got done with a game and went home and the room was spinning, or throughout the game
0:59.1	I got a vicious headache, or now today I sneeze and it goes black or a whole bunch
1:05.9	of white dots to where I got to wait a couple of seconds before I could see clear.
1:11.6	So all those things is what I deal with on a day to day.
1:16.0	Lewis is one of many retired NFL players who've experienced intense physical and mental
1:20.5	repercussions from playing the game.
1:23.2	After years of taking hits to the head, his brain is injured.
1:26.9	He wrestles with memory loss, depression, anxiety, and anger issues.
1:31.5	I don't know why I would cry.
1:34.1	You know, I don't know why I can be in the car and just feel frustrated and have to pull
1:40.0	over.
	...

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