Fred Taylor says the NFL referred him to doctors who overlooked serious injuries

Former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor claims that NFL-referred doctors overlooked serious injuries he suffered during his playing career, including a broken clavicle and a partially torn labrum in each shoulder. Taylor said that he discovered the oversight during an orthopedic exam he underwent in Chicago last week. He detailed the results and his reaction in a string of tweets.

In the process, Taylor shed light on how much current and former players depend on the league to look after their health, and why this can be a problem. For example, Taylor said that he was denied three times for Line of Duty disability payments, which are made available to players who incur “substantial disablement arising out of NFL football activities.“ If the person who determines whether injuries are “substantial” enough to earn benefits is aligned with the NFL, he or she may be inclined to make a decision in the league’s best financial interests.

Taylor’s comments also reveal how players who speak out on their own behalves can become stigmatized as soft.

Taylor’s story is fairly common. In a story I wrote for SB Nation last month, former players revealed how they were pressured by NFL teams to take painkillers like Toradol. Former Steelers defensive tackle Chris Kemoeatu, who is pursuing legal action against the team, said he was conditioned to never question his team because it took care of every aspect of his life. Those who did seek outside opinions, like former Buccaneers, Ravens and Browns running back Errict Rhett, risked consequences.

Rhett recalls seeing another team’s physician, Dr. Robert Anderson of the Panthers, because he didn’t trust the Browns’ treatment plan for his Lisfranc injury. Rhett was happy with Anderson, who operated on the injury, but he says the Browns weren’t.

“The doctor comes in and says, ‘Errict, hey man, I didn’t know that we weren’t supposed to do the surgery, I didn’t know you were just here on a second opinion,’” Rhett recalls. “‘I thought that we were here to take care of you. The Cleveland Browns just cussed us out.’”

Vice Sports’ Battle for Benefits series from 2015 detailed just how difficult it can be for former players to get help through the NFL’s unwieldy benefits system. The system is rigged against them, in part, because of a poorly negotiated collective bargaining agreement that makes current players solely responsible for the money that former players get.

The salary cap structure allows owners to essentially make the players pay for their own benefits, further dividing players against former players during CBA negotiations. Owners take home more than half the annual loot (52 percent) and control their costs. They don’t have to worry about rising player health care costs, pensions, or worker’s compensation premiums. If the players—current or retired—want more, the NFL can simply say: you have your 48 percent. You figure it out.

Taylor is one of the most high-profile players to ever speak out about the NFL’s medical and benefits systems. He is arguably the best player in Jaguars history after rushing for more than 11,000 career yards, good for 16th on the NFL’s all-time rushing list (and, shamefully, only earning one Pro Bowl nod during his career.) His son, Kelvin Taylor, is currently trying to make the 49ers’ roster, which makes the timing of his advocacy particularly poignant.

Taylor and his son have a few strong advocates. Taylor shouted out NFL Legends, an organization that helps former players understand the myriad of benefits programs available to them and assists them in transitioning away from the game. The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund does the same thing, and operates independently of the NFL. Unfortunately, retired players like Taylor may still be fighting an uphill battle. His story isn’t new, and has been told so many times that it’s fair to wonder whether it has truly stopped registering.