http://binaryapi.ap.org/1e6f6e09154244de8894c476873766db/512x.jpg
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/former-bengals-lb-reggie-williams-had-24-surgeries-160141006.html
There are so many sad stories of former NFL veterans in terrible physical condition, and all the stories are important.

When fans complain about the game becoming too soft, they must be ignorant of the stories of former players who can't live a normal life in retirement at a relatively young age. When they speak with scorn about the league trying to put in rules to protect players from injuries, they aren't considering what someone like former Cincinnati linebacker Reggie Williams goes through on a daily basis.



Williams, who played with the Bengals from 1976-89, started two Super Bowls and is the team's all-time leader among linebackers in most categories including tackles, has had 24 surgeries on his right knee, which looks almost unrecognizable. According to an enlightening story by the Cincinnati Enquirer's Paul Daugherty, Williams is fighting off amputation of his right leg, which doctors tell him is inevitable. His right leg is almost three inches shorter than his left leg after all the injuries.

Here is what Williams' knee looks like after 24 surgeries, in a photo from the Enquirer's story. It's not pretty:



(Cincinnati Enquirer)
The story, which is a great read and worth the time if you have any compassion for the men who entertain us on Sundays in the fall, details the difficulty Williams has in his day-to-day life.

He hasn't had a meal at home in more than two years because he can't be on his feet very long to cook, the Enquirer said. His house during the summer is between 85 and 90 degrees because he can't use air conditioning, or his knee feels worse. He has had the surgeries, the first coming in 1979, knee replacements and multiple infections (in 2008 he was diagnosed with the bone infection osteomyelitis, which was not identified for two years) that have left his right leg 2 5/8 inches shorter than the other. He has no insurance to cover the pre-existing condition, so he pays for his own rehabilitation. He has battled the NFL and the Bengals for years over disability benefits. The Dartmouth-educated Williams felt the need to retire from a vice president job at Disney in 2007, at age 53, to dedicate himself to rehabilitation and saving his leg, the Enquirer story said.

This is what 14 NFL seasons and 206 games can do to a man.

@geahuwine

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-The Knicks’ coaching search still includes a lone frontrunner, Kurt Rambis, whose qualifications for the position include a strong relationship with Jackson and a willingness to take the job.

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"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H5K-BUMS0

-The Knicks’ coaching search still includes a lone frontrunner, Kurt Rambis, whose qualifications for the position include a strong relationship with Jackson and a willingness to take the job.

-The Knicks’ coaching search still includes a lone frontrunner, Kurt Rambis, whose qualifications for the position include a strong relationship with Jackson and a willingness to take the job.

the imbalance it's causing throughout his skeleton will lead to more injuries.

and the NFL and bengals need to pay for all of it. and then some.

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>and the NFL and bengals need to pay for all of it. and then
>some.
The way the NFL treats its retired vets is deplorable in comparison to the other major sports

Between the horrible officiating, replays causing games to routinely last over 4 hours, Gooddell being an asshat, and now as we watch we know that players are basically killing themselves... it's hard man.

This story is very sad, too. And so many other players have problems that aren't visibly manifested and therefore are unnoticed.

Folk saying that the NFL won't exist in 20 years are mostly dismissed as hyperbole, but the NFL as-is seems unsustainable.

Insurance companies are real funny style like that...regardless if you have coverage through your job.
They'll start questioning whether or not you got your "ailment" during your tenure working or was it before your employment

Some companines' health plans don't care...others will make it an issue

seems like someone somewhere mislead this guy about his options

not til january AFAIK

Instagram: @von_clay

so hopefully he can benefit

while at disney.

then he left disney and became uninsured.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2013/08/25/reggie-williams-cincinnati/2697069/

Five months earlier, in November 2007, Reggie retired from Disney, to devote himself to rehabbing his knee and saving his leg. Eighteen months after that, Disney stopped insuring him. That was mid-2009. Reggie bought his own health insurance. It does not cover pre-exisiting conditions. His rehab is at his own expense.

As sad as this is no one forces these guys to play football man. The way these stories are portrayed at times you would think they were profiling a wounded soldier coming home from war. The older players got the shaft on this considering they helped lead the league into it's huge popularity spike and they played in a much more violent game than the one that is played today. HOWEVER, they CHOSE to play a game they knew could leave them with permanent injuries.

Obviously medical advances weren't what they are today back then, and there was less awareness about performance enhancing drugs, as well as training and nutrition. That being said......they CHOSE to play a sport that they knew damn well could lead to these type of injuries.

Above everything else, these former players weren't compensated near what players are today. IF there is an argument to be made......it's that. I look at the NFL the same way I look at the US as a whole. There is so much money there that treatment shouldn't EVER be a problem for former player. EVER. The same can be said for healthcare as a whole in this country. But we all know that's not the case.

As bad as we feel for these players, there are people suffering everyday who were never in the position to set themselves up for anything. There are soldiers getting their limbs blown off making almost minimum wage. Firefighters, cops, truck drivers, roofers, ect. all have high fatality rates on the job. Many of them are not compensated nearly enough for the risk. It comes with the territory.

.

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"Take the surprise out your voice Shaq."-The REAL CP3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2H5K-BUMS0

By all means tell me why.....

What happened today was an insult, crap pittance for dudes who put it all on the line to create a multi billionaire dollar industry.

Today's players have better information, better medicine and better salary, but that will only mitigate the problem, not eliminate it.

And let's not let the NFL off the hook either. This is the bunch of old boys club bullshitters that produced "scientific evidence" that contact sports weren't related to concussions. The public fucking FRIED tobacco companies for that sort of junk science, but not the NFL? They also continue to deny and downplay steroid use, which is obviously quite prevalent.

Why do I bring this up? Because while there is known risk in a contact sport, the NFL has ACTIVELY DOWNPLAYED the risk for years running!

Fuck them. Just off the fact that it takes four hours to watch a fucking game with pretty limited rhythm (thank you, ads!) I was almost through with the NFL. Bullshit like this pushes me closer and closer to saying fuck it.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

<--- Big Baller World Order

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One Hundred.

And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

and alot of cats during his prime are in the same boat think about earl Campbell.

and while things are a bit better now than back in the day, alot of cats still can barely move and the NFL needs to Protect their own personally.

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Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

But he is so attached to it and doesn't want to amputate it.

Its kinda sick actually that he wants to hold on to something so bad that its holding him back.

He literally let that knee define his legacy....

Are there two people with deformed legs in this picture?

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