CBS Blitzes NFL in Favor of Disabled Players

June 27th, 2007 6:38 PM

If think you might be suffering from delayed symptoms caused by a job you had almost 20 years ago, maybe you should testify before Congress and get CBS to do a feature story on you too.

Brent Boyd, a former offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings, “slugged it out in the trenches” during the 1980s and now he feels the NFL owes him restitution – even though the league paid him for his efforts. Boyd, the subject of the CBS report, claimed he just “wanted to get his story out there while he could tell it.” But, CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers forgot to tell us Boyd had previously sued for disability benefits from NFL … and lost.

Despite Bowers claim the NFL is “putting profits ahead of player,” the league and the player’s union has recently eased the restriction for claiming disability.

Sitting on the sidelines was the issue of personal responsibility. As a lawyer for the league’s retirement plan pointed out, the players had an opportunity to include stipulations for such a disability pension, but they chose not to.