Jim McMahon, the quarterback who led the Chicago Bears victory in Super Bowl XX, spoke about the $765 settlement reached between the National Football League and former players over concussion-related brain injuries and the suicidal thoughts and pain that he has personally gone through because of injuries incurred while playing football, according to the Huffington Post.
In an interview with Dan Patrick McMahon talked about how his head injuries often made it so that he often didn't want to leave bed. Due to the fluid leaking into his brain he often was only not in pain when lying down in bed. McMahon had surgery to fix the issue and was pleased that the settlement will allow others like him to get treatment.
"All these guys who are suffering along with me are finally going to get some relief. A lot of these guys are way worse off than I am," McMahon said. "When we're playing we don't think about long-term things. I always knew that my body would be beat up. My shoulders, my knees, my back, stuff like that. But nobody ever mentioned the head. I think that's what brought this lawsuit about."
The settlement is being seen by some as a relative victory for the NFL. The league made over $9 billion in revenue last year alone. The settlement also makes it so future players will not be able to sue the league if they develop dementia or other conditions related to repeated head injuries. Most importantly the language used in the settlement absolved the football league from any liability for the injuries, according to CBS Sports.
McMahon told Patrick that he believes that during his career team doctors were never looking out for his long term health; instead they were only focused on doing what they could to get him back on the field, according to the Huffington Post.
"I don't think they were looking out for our best interest, that's for sure," McMahon said. "I saw a lot of guys over my career that you know probably shouldn't be playing football but were out there."
