Former NFL Players Sue Over Discrimination in Concussion Claims

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 15 February 2021

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The NFL's concussion settlement set terms for compensating retired players who show cognitive impairment after playing football. But two NFL veterans have taken legal action because they say the claims process discriminates against Black players, making it harder for them to be compensated. Ryan Smith joins the show to discuss the cases of Najeh Davenport and Kevin Henry, why and how race was factored into their claims, and how the NFL has responded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Back in August, two former players filed lawsuits claiming that the NFL was discriminating
0:06.6	against black players when it comes to concussion-related claims.
0:11.2	First off, the concussion settlement is something that is overseen by a federal court.
0:16.5	The federal court approves the settlement.
0:19.7	And we are not part of selecting the medical experts who are making the decisions on a day-to-day
0:25.1	basis.
0:25.8	That's done by independent clinicians.
0:28.9	And so, you know, obviously we'll work with the court.
0:31.8	We'll continue to see if there are changes that need to be made, but those will be determined
0:35.5	by the court.
0:40.9	That changes that need to be made, but those will be determined by the courts. That is NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in the lead-up to the Super Bowl, being asked
0:46.5	about the league's court settlement with former players around concussions, and whether the
0:51.5	claims process discriminates on the basis of race.
0:56.0	Today, Ryan Smith takes us through investigative reporting from ESPN and our colleagues at ABC News about the lawsuit at the heart of this story.
1:05.9	A lawsuit which alleges that two former NFL players were denied benefits due to the color of their skin.
1:14.0	I'm Pablo Torre. It's Monday, February 15th. This is ESPN Daily.
1:22.8	Ryan, thank you so much for joining me today. So you've been reporting on an explosive lawsuit. Two
1:28.8	former NFL players have levied against the league, and they did this last summer. The players
1:33.6	both filed claims to access funds to the NFL's concussion settlement and the way those
1:38.8	claims were handled. They allege that it shows discrimination against black players in specific.
1:44.8	So remind us of the basics of the NFL's concussion settlement.
1:48.8	What does it cover and who can access it?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from ESPN, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of ESPN and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.