PHILADELPHIA (AP) — With perhaps billions of dollars at stake, a court hearing over concussion litigation filed against the NFL promises to be a contest between legal lions. That hearing starts Tuesday.
About 4,200 former players have sued the league. Some suffer from dementia, depression, Alzheimer's disease and other neurological problems. Others simply want their health monitored.
And a small number, including Ray Easterling and 12-time Pro Bowler Junior Seau, committed suicide after long downward spirals.
The players' lawyers accuse the NFL of promoting violence in the game and concealing known cognitive risks from concussions and other blows to the head. The league says such complaints belong in arbitration under terms of the league's collective bargaining agreement.
