Story highlights
They join over 1,500 other players who claim that the NFL hid concussion dangers
The NFL has denied these allegations
"We weren't aware of the long-term ramifications," a former NFL player says
More than 100 former professional football players, including former Atlanta Falcons Jamal Anderson, Chris Doleman, and O.J. Santiago, are adding their names a growing list of players suing the NFL.
They join more than 1,500 other players who claim that the National Football League hid the dangers of concussions from them.
The latest lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta by attorney Mike McGlamry, states that the NFL “repeatedly refuted the connection between concussions and brain injury.”
It goes on to assert that the organization failed “to take reasonable steps necessary to protect players from devastating head injuries. Moreover, the NFL has downplayed and misrepresented the issues and misled players concerning the risks associated with concussions.”
Regarding these claims, the NFL has repeatedly stated that player safety is a priority. The NFL has said that “any allegation that the NFL intentionally sought to mislead players has no merit.”
Similar suits against the NFL have already been consolidated for trial in Philadelphia, but a trial date has not been set.
The filing cites recent scientific studies that have found a connection between concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease that results in Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, including memory loss and mood swings.
CTE results only from repeated blows to the head, and can be diagnosed only after death. According to the lawsuit, 12 cases of CTE have been detected in deceased NFL players.
Former Green Bay Packer Dorsey Levens, who McGlamry also represents, says that when he played in the mid-1990s, he had no idea of the consequences the game could have. He filed suit in December 2011.
At the time of the filing, Levens told CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, “I wasn’t worried at all, you know, because that’s the way you play the game of football. We weren’t aware of the long-term ramifications of concussions like we are today. So I didn’t worry about it when I played.”