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Riddell Under Fire
Outside the Lines (NOTE: Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, ESPN)
https://youtu.be/kqxQ5dH-kio
The recent concussion lawsuits by NFL players are once again raising questions about head trauma and helmet safety in professional football. In the eye of the storm is the League’s official helmet-maker, Riddell, who is also being sued and has come under fire from members of Congress for allegedly making deceptive marketing claims regarding helmet protection. Sunday on Outside the Lines, ESPN The Magazine’s senior writer Peter Keating takes a closer look at the safety claims surrounding helmets.
“We didn’t know what a concussion was. But with knowledge comes responsibility. You knew that you did this to this group of men. Now pay for it.” — Joe DeLamielleure, Hall-of-Famer for the Bills, Browns 1973-85, among more than 125 players suing the NFL, in most of the cases also suing Riddell
“Riddell’s advertising claims are supported by peer-reviewed, published research, and we are confident that this research data is reliable and accurate.” — Riddell statement
“The whole thing right now is pending before the Federal Trade Commission. I believe at the end of the day, that they’re going to see that there’s some very deceptive advertising going on here.” — Sen. Tom Udall, New Mexico, who serves on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, and is leading the charge against Riddell’s marketing claims
Used Helmets
Outside the Lines (NOTE: Sunday, 9 a.m., ESPN)
https://youtu.be/lFaDngGjo6w
Each year in the United States, about 1.7 million used football helmets are reconditioned for future use, the great majority used at the high school level or younger. Reconditioning includes the cleaning and replacement of worn-out or insufficient parts, but Steve Delsohn reports there are questions as to whether these helmets are adequately inspected and repaired, with numerous people in the reconditioning business telling him some helmets are rushed through the process and returned to schools still in sub-standard condition.
“It’s disturbing. It really is, and it does give me a funny feeling in my stomach that maybe they’re not taking the precautions they need to. I wish that he wasn’t wearing that helmet. But, the bottom line for me is to get other parents educated and aware of the subject, so that we feel comforted that our kids are going to be safe.” — Krista Calles, whose son suffered a concussion playing quarterback in a reconditioned helmet at Sandra Day O’Connor High in Arizona
“Regardless of the volume of business we are doing, or any time deadlines we are facing, we never compromise our quality control procedure or the safety of football players.”— Gary Markichevich, Sunvalco’s co-owner, statement
NFL Face to Face with Hannah Storm
SportsCenter Special (Tuesday, 9 p.m., ESPN2)
https://youtu.be/Gy-3MJ9-_lA
SportsCenter Special: NFL Face to Face with Hannah Storm will feature In-depth interviews with Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Ndamukong Suh and Jim Irsay. See separate release today for additional details, photos and video.
Hornets’ Ayón – From Mexico to Spain to the NBA
ESPN Deportes SportsCenter (Sunday, 11 p.m.)
https://youtu.be/fPt1elLluM8
Last year, 26- year old Gustavo Ayón was one of the top players in Spain’s professional basketball league, earning November’s MVP honors. Ayón, from Nayarit, a small Mexican town, averaged 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 33 games last season for Fuenlabrada before signing with the New Orleans Hornets in December, becoming the third Mexican-born player in the NBA.
In his Outside the Lines piece for ESPN.com., Wright Thompson writes:
The goodbye to Joe Paterno ends Thursday with a public memorial service. The basketball arena holds 15,261 people, and the free tickets went in seven minutes. Hotels are full. Thousands of people lined the streets for Wednesday’s funeral procession. The city buses said “Paterno Proud” on their electronic marquees. Everything in State College had stopped, but, alongside the public mourning, a family was dealing with its private grief. As Jay Paterno pulled away from his house Tuesday night, a friend asked from the back seat, “How’s your mother?”
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