The NFL agreed to a settlement with former NFL players to cover medical expenses related to head injuries, totaling $765 million. Initial reaction? A huge win for the NFL, as the total amounts to less than 10 percent of each team's profit in a single year.
The settlement will be seen as a positive outcome for the league, which, should the lawsuit have moved forward, was facing the potential of billions of dollars in liability payments and a lengthy and almost assuredly revealing discovery phase in which league officials and doctors would likely have been deposed. The settlement was not an admission by the league that it hid information on the long-term effects of head trauma from its players.
NFL concussion lawsuit net outcome? Big loss for the players now and the future! Estimated NFL revenue by 2025 = $27 BILLION
— Kevin Mawae (@KevinMawae) August 29, 2013
Howver, Malcolm Gladwell spoke about his prediction for the sport of football in America in the upcoming documentary, The United States of Football. He didn't paint a positive picture.
Because of that threat of head injuries, “we will go to a middle position where we will disclose the risks and essentially dare people to play …,” says Gladwell, best-selling author of The Tipping Point and Outliers;. “That's what the Army does. So we leave the Army for kids who have other options, for whom the risks are acceptable.
“That's what football is going to become. It's going to become the Army. That's a very, very different situation. That's a ghettoized sport, not a mainstream American sport.”
Gladwell did not respond to email requests for comment. Explaining the “ghettoized” remark, Pamphilon said, “I think his implication is pretty clear. Suburban white kids or their parents are going to opt out … More affluent people are going to decide they don't want to put their kids in that position."
The Manziel family thanked Texas A&M for their outstanding support of their son.
Robinson Cano hopes to return in tomorrow's game for the New York Yankees.
Charles Barkley is not impressed with the 76ers.
I'm disappointed because I thought they treated those assistant coaches bad. They should have fired them at the beginning of the summer and gave them an opportunity to get another job, I do. I mean, I don't understand why you would hold them, let them work the team out all summer, now it's too late for them to get a job, and if I'm the [Brett] Brown guy I wouldn't want somebody else's assistant coaches. He may not even know those guys, and exactly what he did. He fired them right away, and I felt bad for Aaron [McKie] and Michael [Curry] because right now they're stuck in no where because all the good jobs are gone now.
Carolina Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart may miss the entire season.
Brandon Marshall says he's playing in Week 1 despite his hiatus.
John Gruden expects to see the best out of Alex Smith this season.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney believes his squad will score every 13-15 plays.
Check in on Chris Davis' chase for Roger Maris and Miguel Cabrera's chase for consecutive Triple Crowns.
The UEFA Champions League draws were announced today.
Mike Tyson says he won't survive his alcoholism if he doesn't get help soon.
Watch DeAndre Jordan get punched in the face.
Skype is working on 3D calls.
The Pentagon transferred two prisoners from Gitmo to Algeria. Progress!
Salon takes down the flawed, failing GOP-led push to have all welfare recipients take drug tests.
The Dish compiled a consortium of opinion on President Obama's address at the MLK50.
George Zimmerman's wife describes her stress, says they live like gypsies and she may leave him.
Fast-food workers walked out on their jobs across the country in an effort to get higher wages.
"If you're paying $7.35 an hour and employing someone for 20, 25 hours a week, which is the average here, they're bringing home about $10,000 a year. You can't survive on that." Rafanan said.
"Unless we can figure out how to make highly profitable companies pay a fair wage to their workers, we're just going to watch them pull all the blood, sweat, tears and money out of our communities."
Pharrell Williams discusses his musical career and immense success in 2013.
Cam'Ron welcomes ladies to his world and it ain't pretty.
Jay Z drops the video for "Holy Grail" with Justin Timberlake.
