Harry Carson

For several months I have intentionally chosen to stay on the sidelines and withhold any public comments on Retired Player issues. During that time I’ve had the opportunity to interact with many current and former players discussing a wide range of concerns affecting them. I’ve read the various emails and blog postings that many of you have seen on the internet on a daily basis. In those months I’ve received numerous emails from former players around the country expressing their desire to get involved in the issues all Retired Players are dealing with.

For more than 2 years I have expressed my opinion that all Retired Players should be housed under one roof. Even through my involvement with the Alliance, I maintained the need for Retired Players to have our own entity with elected individuals who would be accountable to those they represent. I was characterized by some as being a “Sheep” for even being a part of that group. I make no apologize to anyone for accepting an invitation to affect some kind of change for Retired Players. What would have been a bigger insult to Retirees is if I had declined the Alliance invitation altogether after asking the League and the NFLPA to do better for those who made the league what it is at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2006.

It should come as no surprise that I continue to feel very strongly in favor of all Retired Players being housed under the roof of the NFL Alumni. To even think that we can exist within the NFL Players Association is unrealistic. The previous leadership of the NFLPA failed to adequately represent the issues of Retired Players. The Mike Webster case against the NFL and the EA Sports judgment against the Players Association are the latest and most obvious reasons the relationship is dead. The current players have made a choice of a leader to take them forward for years to come. I do not know Mr. Smith but I wish him the very best as he leads those who selected him. For the Retirees and our families we had no vote and we had no input in the process. That warrants a clear reason that the Retired Players need our own organization with leadership that will act solely on our behalf.

God bless the groups that have been created over the past couple of years to assist former players in need. They have done an admirable job. Unfortunately, the needs and concerns of Retirees are many and cannot be supported entirely by groups like the Gridiron Greats, Fourth and Goal, etc. Those groups can only be a band-aid in helping Players. It will take institutional changes across the board to fulfill the true needs of Retirees. As a solid and strong organization where all Retired Players can be accounted for with representation elected by Retired Players we will earn a right to sit at the table to represent the more than 10,000 former players and their families around the country. Our representative in that seat should be able to carve out a percentage of the NFL/NFLPA income making it unnecessary in the future to go to the current players with our hats in our hands for increased pensions and disability benefits.

For those who ask why the NFL Alumni? There are many reasons why but the primary reason is because the NFL Alumni already has access to the NFL Shield. Regardless of where you stand on the issues, one of the most coveted brands in the world is the NFL. I know many sources that want to work with former players because they are aware of the much publicized treatment of former players by the League and by the NFLPA but also because they want an opportunity to be able to be connected to the NFL brand in some way. To be able to use the NFL Shield to benefit retired players will open many doors and create new found opportunities for us as a group. I personally know of numerous opportunities like free Chiropractic care for former players and their families to various income producing opportunities that would benefit all players purely because of the lure of the Shield.

Please excuse me if I get back into a “player mode”. Now is the time where we have to cut the bullshit and stand together! The downturn in the economy has affected everyone and as I talk with former players who have lost jobs and income they don’t give a shit about petty bickering and name calling. The only thing they want to know is who can help them and when will change take place? Here is another reason to have one organization that works for all of us. With many former players in a “panic” mode now there is absolutely no reason why Retired Players can’t have a job bank to assist them with finding employment opportunities around the country even during times like we are currently in.

Every day that goes by is a day that we will never get back! It’s imperative that we find ways to work together as Retired Players to improve the plight of everyone!

Harry Carson

Most who visit this blog or my site know of the recent passing of my teammate Brad VanPelt of a heart attack. If you didn’t know him personally you could know him from his play on the football field with the NY Giants or from our relationship as a group of linebackers that included Brian Kelly and Lawrence Taylor called the “Crunch Bunch” taking part in humanitarian efforts trying to make a difference in the lives of others. Brad and I were “tight” or close, so close that he was very much like a brother to me. So, because of that closeness and of that relationship I can say things about Brad that others might not be able to say.

When I attended Brad’s funeral service I like everyone else was saddened by his passing but there was also a side of me that was so “pissed off” with him! I looked at him and said under my breath “Brad, if you weren’t dead I would knock the sh-t out of you!” I know he would have said “I know Harry, I know, I should have listened to you!” You see, I feel very strongly that Brad’s death could have been prevented. Within the last year and a half I had been promoting the Living Heart Foundation’s Cardiovascular Screening Programs for NFL Retired Players. These comprehensive screenings were being offered free of charge to former players around the country to see if there were any potential cardiovascular problems that could be treated. Last September I first suggested to Brad that he should take part in the screenings that would be held at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital during Giants Alumni weekend. Brad declined the invitation. In our conversation that started with good intentions Brad revealed to me that he had not seen a doctor since he left football some 22 years earlier. He shared with me that his father died of a heart attack at the age of 49 and bottom line he was afraid of what any examination would find. I was frustrated that with all of the factors and reasons why he didn’t want to go were the same reasons why he should have been proactive in looking out for his own health. Brad continued to be quite adamant in not wanting to know of anything that might be found. At the conclusion of our conversation I was even more frustrated at the stubbornness of a man I was close to but I also felt that the situation was out of my hands.

As a former football player I have memories of preparing for the next upcoming game. We would watch film of our next opponent to see what we had to prepare for. We watched what that next opponent did right to win their last game but we also watched what the team they played against did wrong to lose. To give ourselves the best chance to win we had to understand the mistakes that other team made. We all (especially former athletes) have to understand the mistakes of Brad VanPelt. Brad went from knowing what his body was capable of doing when he played years ago to not wanting to know what was going on with his own body so many years later. At his funeral service I told his mother that her son was a stubborn man! And while that might work on the football field it can act as a detriment off the field.

I encourage all (especially those of us over the age of 40) to do a better job of taking care of ourselves physically.
• Take/make time to listen to our bodies.
• Get a yearly physical (for men make a prostate exam a part of that yearly regiment).
• Get off our asses and get physical by working out. Any type of exercise is better than no exercise at all. (An $8.00 jump rope works wonders.)
• Make an effort to shed a few pounds, improve our endurance and strengthen our hearts and cardiovascular systems.

In the end, I’ve been sad because I’ve lost my friend but I have not shed a tear for him because he did live his life on his own terms. I’m sadder for the many family members and friends who now feel a void with his passing, people who truly loved, cared about and greatly respected him. Many of you have left messages in my guestbook or have sent me emails and letters expressing fond memories of Brad. Let’s not allow his death be in vain but instead use his life and yes, his stubbornness to awaken the call within ourselves to be proactive in living our own lives.

I am saddened with a tremendous sense of loss with the passing of my old teammate Brad VanPelt. Brad was a great player when we played together for the New York Giants. I was honored to join him and Brian Kelly as the linebackers in mid 1976. We played well together as a group and with their support I was able to learn and somewhat master the position I was asked to play by the Giants coaches. We knew we were a good trio playing for the Giants defense in the late 1970s but we rose to a much higher level with addition of Lawrence Taylor. We became known as the “Crunch Bunch” a quartet of the best linebackers in the National Football League of the early 80s. With his tall frame, boyishly good looks, blond hair and wearing his #10 jersey Brad played with great pride representing the New York Football Giants. Most people will live with those memories when they hear the name Brad VanPelt.

I will always live with the relationships I formed with all of my teammates. To me, those are the things I carry with me long after the wins and losses. Brad, Brian and Lawrence are like my brothers that I love as if they are really my next of kin. The laughs we shared and the personal issues we’ve supported one another through have bound us together for life. After our playing days we joined one another yearly to play golf together in Hawaii for the NFL Charities Tournaments. We spoke frequently either on the phone or when we were all in the New York area or anytime we were together taking part in events. But two of the more special times that I will always embrace were going the Mexico to help build homes with former President Jimmy Carter for Habitat for Humanity and visiting the wounded soldier returning from Iraq at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. It was during those times that we very seldom talked about football. Actually it wasn’t about talking about anything it was more about just being in the presence of one another that was soothing to our collective souls. As former football players we took great joy in doing good works and making people smile.

Brad was a wonderful and loyal friend who died much too soon. With his wisdom, his passion for helping others, his zest for living and broad smile there was much he should have been able to contribute to make a difference in the lives of many people, especially young athletes.

I love my teammates! And right now I’m missing one of my favorites, Brad VanPelt.

This is an important message to all retired NFL Players and their families in the Tampa area during SuperBowl. I am urging all of you to take advantage of The Living Health Foundation’s offer of free cardiovascular health screenings for former players. I took part in the screenings last year at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ and found it to be a valuable asset in determing what my cardiovascular risks were. I was so impressed with the screening process that I helped to organize a screening in New York for many of my former NY Giants teammates and other former players living in the New York/New Jersey area at Mount Sinai Hospital during Giants Alumni weekend in September.

The Tampa screenings will take place at the Tampa Health Center on the Bay, hosted by Tampa General Hospital and the University of South Florida Health Center. Screenings will take place on Friday, January 30th and Saturday, January 31st. To take advantage of these screenings you must pre-register by contacting the LHF Office at 732-842-5584 or registering online at www.livingheartfoundation.org.

This intense health opportunity will be extremely valuable to you because it will help you understand your risk for developing cardiovascular and other general health problems. You will learn how you can limit the chances of serious related medical complications and premature death in the future. Remember, what you don’t know about your health can hurt you and your families. As a former NFL player, a heart doctor specialist and the founder of the LHF, Dr. Archie Roberts will be present personally to meet and talk with you at the screening.

I strongly encourage you to sign up for this program. Working together and with your commitment, we stand to decrease your likelihood of experiencing adverse CV events, like heart attack or stroke, by as much as 50%! We need to make the commitment to a healthy lifestyle!