Daily Madden: Lawsuit Will Help Educate All In NFL
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Former San Francisco 49ers lineman Jeremy Newberry is one of eight former players accusing the NFL in a lawsuit of regular misuse of painkillers to keep players on the field. "I think (the lawsuit) is going to lead to more education," John Madden told the KCBS Radio morning crew.
The lawsuit alleges the drug use has led to other health problems. "This may be a case now that 'No one told us -- we didn't know that these things could happen.' I think it's going to lead to 'From now on you know.' In fact, I think in the (NFL) concussion case, I think one of the judges said that you can't use this again, that you didn't know that concussions could lead to later problems in life... It's going to be explained to them that if you have injuries now and if you take medicine to mask them, the injuries could be worse (and) you could have other problems."
Madden also said he knows of an announcer who gets injections of the powerful painkiller Toradol before games just as players do.
Madden favors expanding team rosters to help address the issue. "One thing I read that Newberry said that I believe in and that I'm trying to do is get more players per team so you have more players available," Madden said.
Daily Madden
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.
