Arnold joins suit against NFL

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July 8, 2012

Arnold joins suit against NFL

By Devin Golden devingolden@daltoncitizen.com The Dalton Daily Citizen Sun Jul 08, 2012, 07:00 AM EDT

Jim Arnold thinks he got his “bell rung” a few times as a punter for Dalton High in the 1970s. But he never knew at the time whether or not he received a concussion, and it was the same story through his collegiate and professional career.

That is one of the reasons he’s joined other former players in a lawsuit against their former employer.

The 1979 Dalton graduate and retired National Football League player is one of more than 2,400 retired players who are now plaintiffs in an ever-growing lawsuit against the league. According to reports from The Associated Press, the argument many use is that the NFL knew of the dangers of concussions yet did nothing to protect players from the effects.

Arnold was a punter in the NFL for 12 seasons after graduating from Vanderbilt University in 1983. He played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins and twice made the Pro Bowl.

Arnold said his position was dangerous, too, despite the general fans’ idea of what punters do.

“The common misconception is we go kick a ball and go to the sideline,” he said. “There’s a ton of guys who want to turn around and wipe you out.”

At Dalton, Arnold was a punter, and he remembers making “several tackles” and possibly receiving a concussion. However, it’s hard to tell, and that is one of the biggest dangers.

“(By) what classifies a concussion nowadays, I’m sure I have (had a concussion),” he said. “I got my bell rung a couple of times in high school.

“You could be playing basketball and going for a layup and a guy bumps you real bad and you’re seeing stars. That’s a Grade 1 concussion. You don’t have to be hit in the head or put to sleep to receive a concussion.”

Arnold joined earlier this year with other former players in a battle with the NFL, and in a phone interview with The Daily Citizen earlier this week said it stems from learning of his own head injuries. Arnold wasn’t diagnosed with a concussion while an active player.

“The reason I entered the suit is because I went through several tests with neurologists in California and they said, ‘You’ve had several concussions,’” Arnold said. “After learning more about the suit, I decided to put my name on it, too.”

The NFL formed the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee in 1994 to study the possibility of a link between concussions and permanent brain damage. According to the AP, one of the main topics in the lawsuit is whether the NFL knew of a connection but did not react to protect players.

Arnold said it could go as far as manipulation.

“So basically they could have manipulated those results to show that there weren’t long-term effects, when if you take the whole case it would have,” Arnold said.

But Arnold worries about the future of the sport. He said everyone should know of injury risks with football, but concussions add a whole new dimension to it.

“I’ll tell you one thing, no one thought it would be brain damage,” he said. “Concussions are going to be in the sport. From my standpoint, it’s up to doctors and engineers to develop some equipment. The game over the years has gotten bigger, stronger and faster, and I don’t know how you’re going to be able to avoid it.”

And Arnold believes it is up to the NFL to help educate younger players about the dangers, especially since it is making a stand for player safety.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s stance in the bounty scandal with the New Orleans Saints — after an investigation, the NFL accused some Saints players and coaches of having a pay-for-injury system in place and issues varying suspensions — is the right move, Arnold said, but he called it a “narrow” scope in protecting players.

“Some of the better athletes say, ‘I’m going to play college and play pro,’ and they can make it that far,” he said. “But let’s take it back to the NFL because that’s where it all stems from. What is the NFL doing to teach players and coaches? Why is there not a grass-roots effort not to take the teaching on down to kids to teach them at the lower level? If you’re that serious about it, why aren’t you doing anything?”

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