SC: Before we get into the film, let’s talk about concussions, and where things are. You’re a part of the larger series of lawsuits brought by former NFL players against the league, and I’m just curious — how many concussions would you estimate you suffered during your NFL career?
DL: Well, I don’t have any documented concussions, but let me say this: There were hundreds, because that term, “Bell Rung,” that we thought was just nothing and a part of football, that was a concussion. And that’s what we’re just finding out — that we’ve all had hundreds, and maybe even thousands. Because you talk about offensive and defensive linemen — they’re butting heads almost every play. Linebackers and fullbacks? When I had to play fullback, I hated it, because I had a headache every day after practice. Because your job is to go in there and get the linebacker out of the hole and get room for your tailback. Back when I played, we out pads on twice a day, and hit twice a day, in practice. They don’t do that as much now because of the rules changes, but back then, it was chronic. For six weeks in training camp, you knew it was going to be hell.
SC: Did you ever report concussions to your coaches and trainers, and if so, what was the response?
DL: You have to understand one thing — back then, it was an accepted part of the culture. There was no talk about it, no concern about it. I’d see guys get knocked unconscious on the field , and literally snoring — right on the field. They get up, they wobble, they can’t stand up straight. We thought that was a concussion, but when you just got your bell rung … we didn’t know the long-term effects. It was like, ‘Dude, shake it off!’ We all get our bell rung, so pull it together and get back in the game. William Henderson, my fullback in Green Bay, would go the wrong way on lead plays sometimes [after a concussion], and I’d tell him, “Man, you’re gonna get me killed out there!’ He’d come back to the huddle with this look in his eyes, and I Knew what it meant. He wasn’t all there. He was blinking and trying to pull it all together, taking deep breaths, and that doesn’t help, you know? It takes time. We joked about it, and there was never any concern.
SC: Ex-players I talk to now say the same thing — they had no idea of the possible ramifications and repercussions at the time. When did you start to realize that there was more to this, and that the NFL may have known more than was said about the long-term effects of head trauma?
DL: As far as I know, in 1994, the NFL got a group of doctors together in 1994 to determine if there was a relationship between traumatic brain injuries and repeated head blows. And they came back and said, ‘No — not in any way, shape, or form is there a relationship between repeated head blows and dementia, traumatic brain injuries, early onset Alzheimer’s — there’s just nothing there. So, I guess we’re going to find out what they knew, and when they knew it. That’s what the lawsuits are about — finding out if they indeed knew in 1994, and if so, to hold them accountable.