The family of Junior Seau has sued the NFL, claiming the former
linebacker's suicide was the result of brain disease caused by violent
hits he sustained while playing football.
The wrongful death lawsuit, filed Wednesday in California Superior
Court in San Diego, blames the NFL for its ''acts or omissions'' that
hid the dangers of repetitive blows to the head. It says Seau developed
chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from those hits, and accuses the
NFL of deliberately ignoring and concealing evidence of the risks
associated with traumatic brain injuries.
Seau died at age 43 of a self-inflicted gunshot in May. He was
diagnosed with CTE, based on posthumous tests, earlier this month.
An Associated Press review in November found that more than 3,800
players have sued the NFL over head injuries in at least 175 cases as
the concussion issue has gained attention in recent years. More than
100 of the concussion lawsuits have been brought together before US
District Judge Anita B. Brody in Philadelphia.
''Our attorneys will review it and respond to the claims appropriately
through the court,'' the NFL said in a statement Wednesday.
Helmet manufacturer Riddell Inc., also is being sued by the Seaus, who
say Riddell was ''negligent in their design, testing, assembly,
manufacture, marketing, and engineering of the helmets'' used by NFL
players. The suit says the helmets were unreasonably dangerous and
unsafe.
Seau was one of the best linebackers during his 20 seasons in the NFL.
He retired in 2009.
''We were saddened to learn that Junior, a loving father and teammate,
suffered from CTE,'' the family said in a statement released to the AP.
''While Junior always expected to have aches and pains from his playing
days, none of us ever fathomed that he would suffer a debilitating
brain disease that would cause him to leave us too soon.
''We know this lawsuit will not bring back Junior. But it will send a
message that the NFL needs to care for its former players, acknowledge
its decades of deception on the issue of head injuries and player
safety, and make the game safer for future generations.''
Plaintiffs are listed as Gina Seau, Junior's ex-wife; Junior's children
Tyler, Sydney, Jake and Hunter, and Bette Hoffman, trustee of Seau's
estate.
The lawsuit accuses the league of glorifying the violence in pro
football, and creating the impression that delivering big hits ''is a
badge of courage which does not seriously threaten one's health.''
It singles out NFL Films and some of its videos for promoting the
brutality of the game.
''In 1993's 'NFL Rocks,' Junior Seau offered his opinion on the measure
of a punishing hit: `If I can feel some dizziness, I know that guy is
feeling double (that),' " the suit says.
The NFL consistently has denied allegations similar to those in the
lawsuit.
''The NFL, both directly and in partnership with the NIH, Centers for
Disease Control and other leading organizations, is committed to
supporting a wide range of independent medical and scientific research
that will both address CTE and promote the long-term health and safety
of athletes at all levels,'' the league told the AP after it was
revealed Seau had CTE.
The lawsuit claims money was behind the NFL's actions.
''The NFL knew or suspected that any rule changes that sought to
recognize that link (to brain disease) and the health risk to NFL
players would impose an economic cost that would significantly and
adversely change the profit margins enjoyed by the NFL and its teams,''
the Seaus said in the suit.
The National Institutes of Health, based in Bethesda, Md., studied
three unidentified brains, one of which was Seau's, and said the
findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people ''with exposure to
repetitive head injuries.''
''It was important to us to get to the bottom of this, the truth,''
Gina Seau told the AP then. ''And now that it has been conclusively
determined from every expert that he had obviously had CTE, we just
hope it is taken more seriously. You can't deny it exists, and it is
hard to deny there is a link between head trauma and CTE. There's such
strong evidence correlating head trauma and collisions and CTE.''
In the final years of his life, Seau went through wild behavior swings,
according to Gina and to 23-year-old son, Tyler. There also were signs
of irrationality, forgetfulness, insomnia and depression.
''He emotionally detached himself and would kind of 'go away' for a
little bit,'' Tyler Seau said. ''And then the depression and things
like that. It started to progressively get worse.''
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