Washington – Under fire from injured retirees who say they were denied sufficient benefits, the head of the NFL Players Association asked Congress on Tuesday for greater authority to approve disability claims.
Gene Upshaw, director of the players association, said the union is limited in what it can do for the scores of former players who are battered and broken from years of playing the sport. At the same time, Upshaw and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said league pensions are improving.
“We have made great progress, and we are not finished,” Upshaw told a Senate committee. “Congress can help.”
Retired football players have been openly critical of the NFL and the Upshaw-led NFLPA over the amount of money older retirees get from a $1.1 billion fund set aside for disability and pensions.
Goodell defended the system, saying the NFL is boosting benefits when many companies across the country are reducing them.
Mike Ditka, a Hall of Fame coach and player for the Chicago Bears, argued that the older players who built the league should be treated better.
“Don’t make proud men beg,” he said. “Just let them live out their lives with a little bit of respect.”
