[ Closed ] Raider Nation In Mourning

Thanks D, we posted this sad news at the same time. C-Ya tonight.

                                                                                                         J Dawg

You know as me being a part of the Raider Nation you know not of what you speak Bill S.  There is so much more involved with Gene Upshaw than to read about him after his death.  It was about his life, not knowing about him after he is dead. 

I am not going to say much here as it was more appropriate to talk on football forums with people who have a better understanding of what Gene Upshaw was all about.  You have no idea of what kind of man Gene Upshaw was. And for Turley to complain, he better be thanking Gene Upshaw for all he has done for him.  You better be happy as football fans that you didn't have 3 strikes and uncontrollables salaries without a salary cap and the mess you have in Baseball.  As head of the Union it is a very complicated job.  You can't have everything your way, there are alot of times when you have to negotiate in order to get things done.   Gene Upshaw understood better than Turley what his peers had to go through.  He tried to get things done but guess what, he can't do it by himself.
He has to work with the players and the league. 

Part of the roadblock was some of the current players themselves  holding up benefits for older players. And then to be complaining about training camp now versus when Gene Upshaw went to training camp is ridiculous.  Do you know how much easier training camp is now then when Gene Upshaw played?  And how much more money they are making now then when Gene Upshaw played?  They get paid alot of money to do what they do and I totally belief in benefits but you have to balance the players interest with the leagues interest.  When the teams give a big contract with guaranteed money and a player is out for a whole year or it is a bad signing you don't see that player giving back that money.  It's a high stakes game with high stake components and Gene Upshaw was a good man with good character.  Just remember he was one of the former players who layed the groundwork for where the league is now as a player and an executive.

Cont. Part 2

I'll just get to the point. 

The Union works for the current employees.  Their main goal is not to work retroactively for people who have retired like the Gridiron Greats.  That can be a sub goal but it is not the primary goal.  They've come a long way getting fantastic salaries for their current employees like Kyle Turley so he is able to donate money to the Gridiron Greats. In fact so good that the NFL has opted out of the bargaining agreement because of high salaries as one of the reasons.  That high salary and their benefits packages along with their retirement packages allow them not to be in the position as the players that played before them like the Gridiron Greats.  The Gridiron Greats are lacking because of what was available at the time they played.  Most people who retire 15 years earlier do not get the same kind of retirement package as current employees.  A number of people nowadays don't even get retirement packages.  They may not even get health benefits.  The Gridiron Greats have it alot better than alot of people on disability or retirement.

Upshaw, who said he grows “distressed when I hear about any former player who is hurting and in need,” testified that “the system can be improved, and Commissioner Goodell and I are determined to simplify and expedite the processing of claims.” Here's an example of what the NFL and NFL Player's Union has done:

A doubling of the minimum benefit post-career, non-football “total and permanent” disability from $20,000 to $40,000 per year for retired players who become disabled unrelated to football. Players would otherwise receive the full amount of their pension, if greater.
Players who took their NFL pension early, and are therefore ineligible to apply for and receive disability benefits, will be offered a
new one-time opportunity to apply for total and permanent disability benefits.  These players may establish their disability through either a medical examination or by a total and permanent disability determination from Social Security. The opportunity to apply for benefits will begin on April 1, 2008. Applications will be accepted through July 31, 2008.

Players who have received a total and permanent disability determination from Social Security will not need to separately establish disability under the NFL plan.  Players who were denied benefits under the NFL plan but have subsequently been found disabled by Social Security may have their NFL cases reconsidered.  The other good news for retired NFL players is that NFL disability awards
are not offset by the amount of any award paid by Social Security.

The time within which to apply for line of duty disability benefits has been lengthened from the current 48-month period to 48 months or the player’s actual number of credited seasons. For example, a 10-year veteran would have 10, rather than, as previously, four years, to apply for this benefit.

This is better than alot of people have.  Football players get Social Social Security disability benefits and their league's disability benefits.

NFL and NFLPA representatives noted that the benefits in the disability and pension systems are set through collective bargaining negotiations between the players and the owners.

In the most recent collective bargaining agreement, payments from the pension fund were raised by 25 percent for players who retired before 1982 and 10 percent for those who retired after 1982.

"Many of the players who now complain about their pension did not view pension benefits as a priority when they were playing, and did not agree to make sacrifices in bargaining to improve either their pensions or the pensions of those who came before them," said Douglas Ell, the lawyer for NFL's retirement plan.

Has there been problems with their disability plans sure.  Can the NFL Player's Association do better, sure.  With the Gridiron Greats they are going to do what it takes now to make it better.  But did they neglect it when they were bargaining, YES.

For the first time as a member of this forum, I have deleted a post (actually 2 posts).
I never said one bad word about Gene Upshaw, but I probably exercised poor timing expressing my opinion on the debate between the NFLPA and Gridiron Greats. 
My apologies if my post offended Raiders fans or anyone else.
Rivercat, your two initial responses (part 1 and part 2) were informative and shed light on the other side of the debate.
Your response above speaks for itself.