Jim McMahon Opens Up About Suing the NFL
The former Chicago Bears quarterback claims the league is even more sinister than you might think.
In an interview with Matt Lauer this morning, former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon – now 54 – made some contentious remarks regarding the harsh realities of the NFL: team officials illegally distribute narcotics to injured players in order to keep them in the game, despite the potential health risks.
McMahon is one of 750 players (most of whom have not revealed their identities) to bring a federal class-action lawsuit against the NFL last month, and he claims to have experienced this practice first-hand.
In 1984 McMahon allegedly broke his hand during a game, but was quickly ushered back onto the field after team doctors insisted it was just a contusion. A subsequent visit to the hospital determined that the injury was far more severe, and the hand was set in a cast. At practice the next day, McMahon claims he was ordered to cut the cast off and allow himself to be injected with various painkillers. Today, he struggles with depression, suicidal thoughts, full body aches, and early onset dementia, all of which he attributes to the NFL’s careless dispersion of proper medical care.
While the NFL has not commented on McMahon’s specific claims – or similar accusations made by other players even prior to the lawsuit – this doesn’t seem likely to end well. Watch Lauer’s interview with McMahon from The Today Show below.
Photos by Focus on Sport/Getty Images
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