Brandon Meriweather: NFL Players 'Don't Take Advantage' Of Long-Term Health Benefits Offered By League
BOSTON (CBS) -- The short-term bumps and bruises associated with playing a sport as brutish as professional football have been obvious for decades. But only in recent years has the NFL and the public truly awoken to the severe long-term health risks the sport poses, especially regarding head injuries.
In light of increased knowledge of brain trauma and the long-term damage that pro football can do to players, the league has come under fire for its treatment of retired players regarding their long-term health and safety, personified by a large and very public lawsuit against former players. But former Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather believes the league's policies have improved - and the players themselves aren't exactly innocent in all this.
Meriweather joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich and was asked what he thinks of the NFL's treatment of retired players. While he believes the league is "getting better" with its health and wellness policies, he placed part of the blame on the players for failing to pay attention to them.
"The problem with the NFL is a lot of people don't take advantage of the opportunities that the NFL gives," said Meriweather. "That's the problem with retirement. The problem isn't that the NFL doesn't help at all, the problem now is there's so many players that don't take advantage of all the stuff that the NFL would have given you."
Meriweather, who is not retired but currently a free agent, admitted that some of the problem is timing-related.
"Every year you have a meeting about all the benefits you get and everything," said Meriweather. "The problem is, we have meetings during the season and players don't want to pay attention to the meetings. That's the problem ... We would have a meeting before we have a big game, so the whole time in the meeting you're thinking, 'Man, can you hurry up so I can focus on this game?' That's the problem. The problem isn't that we don't know, the problem is that when we're getting told, it's going in one ear and out the other."
Meriweather also fielded plenty of questions about his former teammate Vince Wilfork and the considerable girth of NFL linemen. Listen to the full podcast below.