Wow - sad news about how much pain Wesley Walker is in. Football just grinds you down; I'll never begrudge any player trying to get as much money as they can during their careers.

http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_22558403/former-cal-star-wesley-walker-constant-wrenching-pain

"I never thought it would be like this," Walker told The Record. "If I knew I would end up like this, hell no. Not on your life (would I have played). I'd find another career."

Very sad. Don't know if he suffered brain injuries but the toll on his body was obviously devastating. Reminds me of the perennial all-NFL center for the Raiders (Jim Otto) who couldn't even get out of bed in the morning without help. Walker remains one of my childhood heroes - perhaps the best Cal end ever.

On top of all that, he is also legally blind in one eye.

It's not just concussions from head hits.
Zack Follett is in Clovis, owning and managing a nice coffee house, with constant neck pain.
There are hundreds of stories just like this - or worse.

The really smart guys play for a couple of years, build up an eight figure net worth, then get out and live their lives, healthy and happy at a young age.
Too many play, bulk up naturally or with chemicals, mask their hurts for a while with injections, live high, then are discarded broke and broken.
Stories like Wes' should be required reading for all those with NFL dreams.
Oh yeah ... it won't happen to them.

I always thought Barry Sanders was super-smart to get out while still in his prime. Anyone know how he is doing?

I hope everyone who ever used the term "greedy players" during the labor negotiations of the NFL feels a little something today. And no, there is not a single NFL owner "aching" economically from owning a team.

mbBear;842078492 said:

---

I hope everyone who ever used the term "greedy players" during the labor negotiations of the NFL feels a little something today. And no, there is not a single NFL owner "aching" economically from owning a team.

---

how backwards we can be at times ... the one with the money on the line makes the most the one putting life and living on the line gets a sizable share

mbBear;842078492 said:

---

I hope everyone who ever used the term "greedy players" during the labor negotiations of the NFL feels a little something today. And no, there is not a single NFL owner "aching" economically from owning a team.

---

And they called the players that ("greedy") during a lockout by the owners to break an existing contract with the players no less.

Or worse, people on this board called another one of our great Golden Bear WRs, Desean Jackson, names because he was upset that the Eagles did not tear up his way-below market non-negotiated rookie contract as they had promised to when gave up his hold-out from a shortened training camp (shortened due to an owner imposed lockout) so he would be ready for the season.

mbBear;842078492 said:

---

I hope everyone who ever used the term "greedy players" during the labor negotiations of the NFL feels a little something today. And no, there is not a single NFL owner "aching" economically from owning a team.

---

"greedy players" ... pure BS
Think of the owners who want governments to fund stadiums, which increases the franchise value, then threaten to abandon the stadiums to go to another city, thus "extorting" more from the cities that want them to stay. Football, basketball ... doesn't matter.

When owners start building and funding their own "plant and equipment", putting their skin and only their skin in the game, then a discussion can begin about "greedy players".
"Greedy players" is BS because over every door is the magic word: "EXIT".
If a player can convince management that they deserve more money, so be it.
If a player cannot convince management, the magic word is the answer, as it is in every business.

This is beyond sad. Wesley Walker has always been one of my favorite players and all we can hope for is that somehow a way can be found so he can have a normal life.

NJCalFan;842078480 said:

---

I always thought Barry Sanders was super-smart to get out while still in his prime. Anyone know how he is doing?

---

This is going back quite a ways, but there is also the case of Jim Brown, one of the greatest running backs ever. He retired when at the top of his game and went on to have a successful acting career.

Wesley was one of my favorite players in my time as a student at Cal. Roth to Walker was a beautiful thing to behold and those memories linger thirty plus years later. But to hear that he is suffering so greatly due to football is extremely distressing. I sincerely hope that medical science will develop effective treatments for him as well as so many NCAA and NFL veterans that bear the wounds of their time in the game. It's a game that demands a price, even my limited participation in high school has left injuries that are felt today, albeit very minor compared to higher level players.

While I sympathize with WW's medical condition, nobody forced him to play football and expose himself to such injuries. It's somewhat akin to signing on to be a Bering Sea fisherman which is supposedly the most dangerous job in the world with several deaths occurring each year. Nobody, forces them to be fishermen but they do so because of the lure of lots of money.

Heck, one of my closest friends never played highschool or college sports of any kind but has had 2 hip replacements, 2 back surgeries, and is in constant pain with heavy pain medication. He has nobody to blame for his situation.

I don't hear anybody clammoring to outlaw Bering Sea fishing or professional football. Instead, I just hear that NFL players ought to get more money because of the risks of their profession. So, it's really not about safety that raises our hackles - it's about money. Guess what? The more money that's available, the greater the attraction to the occupation and the greater the number of people who will be injured.

RealBear65;842079077 said:

---

While I sympathize with WW's medical condition, nobody forced him to play football and expose himself to such injuries. It's somewhat akin to signing on to be a Bering Sea fisherman which is supposedly the most dangerous job in the world with several deaths occurring each year. Nobody, forces them to be fishermen but they do so because of the lure of lots of money.

Heck, one of my closest friends never played highschool or college sports of any kind but has had 2 hip replacements, 2 back surgeries, and is in constant pain with heavy pain medication. He has nobody to blame for his situation.

I don't hear anybody clammoring to outlaw Bering Sea fishing or professional football. Instead, I just hear that NFL players ought to get more money because of the risks of their profession. So, it's really not about safety that raises our hackles - it's about money. Guess what? The more money that's available, the greater the attraction to the occupation and the greater the number of people who will be injured.

---

i think what people are clamoring for is for the nfl to take better care of its players that are gone and didnt reap the financial benefits of today's players. I dont have a problem with it. I wouldnt get all broken up about it, but when your league is by far the richest and most profitable in professional sports in america, then why not take care of the people that helped build the game into what it is today.

Nobody forces anybody to do anything but there should be workplace safety standards in place, especially when some injuries didn't have to happen. I'm glad the whole concussion issue is leading to new guidelines and the way athletes are treated for injuries.

Does anyone else get confused with Wes Welker?

burritos;842080688 said:

---

Does anyone else get confused with Wes Welker?

---

Lol. No.

gobears725;842079120 said:

---

i think what people are clamoring for is for the nfl to take better care of its players that are gone and didnt reap the financial benefits of today's players. I dont have a problem with it. I wouldnt get all broken up about it, but when your league is by far the richest and most profitable in professional sports in america, then why not take care of the people that helped build the game into what it is today.

---

Ditka was on Chron Live before SB talking about this and it is exactly on point. It is shameful to have billions floating around while players from 50s-60s struggle with basic needs and health care. Shame on owners AND union And networks. There aren't large numbers of guys involved here. No reason not to have better system funded.

http://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/finance/news/five-hundred-retired-nfl-players-205200024.html?.intl=us&.lang=en-us

Business is business. Medical care is for Socialists.

bobodeluxe;842080722 said:

---

business is business. Medical care is for every other first world country in the world except the US.

---

fify

NYCGOBEARS;842080729 said:

---

fify

---

Socialists, all. Of course, how can anyone be a Real American when they aren't American!

A high school classmate of mine, someone I played basketball with, just died. He was 61. He played on USC's 1972 national championship and then for several years in the NFL with the Bills, Buccanneers and the Raiders. A typical story, he got a career-ending injury and got shafted for medical treatment. He sued the Raiders, and I don't recall the outcome but you can bet Uncle Al fought tooth and nail. He and his wife fought for years to get treatment, as he was basically disabled, before finally getting a few bones thrown their way. To compound things, he accidentally shot himself in the leg with a pistol and had to have it amputated. Not related to football but still not a good thing to have. And - stop me if you've heard this one - he was having mental problems related to repeated concussions, bad enough that he and his wife were divorced several years ago. He moved back to our hometown a few years ago, and there was a little flurry of publicity. He even tried to do a little coaching at one of the high schools, but he couldn't stand up on his feet for very long and had to quit. I had not heard anything at all about him until the notice in the paper that he had died, just before the end of the year. There's supposed to be a service for him sometime soon, and although we were never friends (and frankly, he didn't have the greatest personality) I would like to attend. Yes, no one forced him to play football, but he payed a high price. I'm 61 years old too but I'm not in pain, I have no lingering injuries, and except for a propensity for telling stories have my faculties intact.

burritos;842080688 said:

---

Does anyone else get confused with Wes Welker?

---

No, but I get him confused with Jimmie JJ "Dyn-o-mite" Walker.

calumnus;842078502 said:

---

And they called the players that ("greedy") during a lockout by the owners to break an existing contract with the players no less.

Or worse, people on this board called another one of our great Golden Bear WRs, Desean Jackson, names because he was upset that the Eagles did not tear up his way-below market non-negotiated rookie contract as they had promised to when gave up his hold-out from a shortened training camp (shortened due to an owner imposed lockout) so he would be ready for the season.

---

That's why he shouldn't claim any connection to Cal on Monday Night Football introductions.

It's hypocritical when some Cal Fans are being greedy for name-recognition and attention for the University ("OMG, I hope he says 'Cal' or 'California' during his MNF intro! Weeeeee!") and then rip him for being greedy during contract negotiation in the name of his own self-preservation and future well-being.