Dark Side of the NFL

I just got done watching a story on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” about the wives of former NFL players and what their lives are like after their husbands are forced to retire from the NFL due to injuries. It is a heartbreaking piece and very sobering to those of us who love the NFL but don’t give the lasting injuries caused by the sport much thought during a Sunday afternoon. It is a very humanizing piece and it puts the plight of these so called “warriors” into proper perspective. Of course, I have heard in the last several months about how the NFL Players Association fails to take care of its disabled players and how guys like Mike Ditka are fighting tooth and nail to change the process. But it never really hit me as to how severe the problem really is until I saw the story of Autumn and Brian DeMarco on Real Sports. Brian DeMarco was a 6′7″ 320 lb. offensive lineman in the NFL from 1995-99 with Jacksonville and Cincinnati. He had to retire after the ‘99 season due to a spinal cord injury. Today, Brian is 35 and disabled. He is nearly penniless, has been reduced to hocking his valuables just to eat and is forced to beg the NFL for help. The NFL basically doesn’t know he exists. His primary caregiver is his wife, Autumn. Every day she helps him to get dressed, eat, take his pills and even use the bathroom. It is tough to watch what Brian DeMarco has been reduced to due to his crippling injuries. He simply cannot get around without his wife’s help and even has trouble putting his medication into his own mouth. But Autumn doesn’t care even though she never thought NFL stardom would bring her to where she is today. She is the true hero of this story. She loves her husband and does anything for him. The DeMarco’s have children and often don’t know where their next meal is coming from. They often worry where they will be living next month. They once had to live in a storage facility with their kids. Maybe it’s because Brian DeMarco is a player I am familiar with and watched play in recent years but this story really brought into focus for me how bad this problem really is. It is a tragic story and one that every football fan should be aware of. If you are a football fan and have HBO, take the time during this Super Bowl week to watch this story. It will sober you up to what the NFL is really like behind the scenes- a real horror show. But the shining light in all this is Autumn. Not all NFL wives are capable of doing what she does everyday but she is to be commended for the love and dedication she shows her family. She is truly a remarkable woman.