May 29 - 31, 2009

Presented by

The Independent Advocates for Retired Football Players

In Association with

May 29, 2009 Dear Summit Attendees: Welcome, and thank you for being a part of the first great Independent Summit of Retired Professional Football Players. Our premise for this gathering has always been inclusive and invitations were extended to all retired players, wives, widows, groups, advocates, NFL officials and the new Executive Director of the NFLPA some months ago now. We are all indebted to the doctors, attorneys and other expert presenters and speakers who have taken the time to be a part of this Summit. Their participation has certainly helped to make this event the first of its kind. Over a year ago, I spoke with Bernie Parrish about retired players getting together to hold the meeting that the NFLPA and the NFL should have held years ago. After that, I spoke with advocates Abner Haynes, Dave Pear, Bruce Laird, Tony Davis, Marvin Cobb, Jeff Nixon and Brent Boyd and asked them if they would help and support such a gathering. Each said that they would. And they did. After sending out an open invitation to retired players, we received such a positive response that we all agreed to go ahead with it. We felt that we might be able to get as many as fifty people to attend and as you can see, we did a little better than that because we have approximately two hundred people with us today. Folks at the NFLPA were laughing when they first heard of what we were working on but they’re not laughing today. When they realized that their Convention/Golf Tournament down in Palm Springs was not keeping up with our numbers, they dropped the registration fees that they have had for years, offered one- and two-year free memberships to the NFLPA Retired Group and even offered to buy two tanks of gas for players who would drive in from California and Arizona. It seems our Summit is already impacting behavior at the PA! This is your Summit, so we hope that you’ll feel free to “speak your mind” this weekend. Your advocates will be in agreement on some things and they won’t on others. However, one thing we all can agree on is the need for reform and improvement in our pension and disability plans and that’s the primary reason we’re here in Las Vegas. It is my fervent hope that you enjoy yourselves, learn some new and valuable information and are motivated and inspired to stay involved in the current movement for change. I sincerely thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you.

Bob Grant Summit Producer Retired Baltimore Colts Washington Redskins

Why Are We in Vegas? (excerpts from the news)

NFL disability hassles add to pain of lingering injuries

September, 2008

The football body is broken. The old player's right hand grips a cane. His right shoulder is bisected by a surgical scar. His left hip is ceramic, his left knee titanium. His right knee and his back ache constantly, but he wants no more surgeries. Roger Anderson stands in the doorway of his Portsmouth home, chest heaving. It has taken him several minutes to answer the doorbell, as he warned a visitor it would. "I push around a lot slower, but I do it," he says. "Every step I take, I'm in a lot of pain."

Nothing but pain for ex-Jet Walker

BY JIM BAUMBACH, November 26, 2008

Remember Wesley Walker? Sure you do. How can anyone here in New York forget the way the former Jets receiver used to make sprinting past defenders look so easy, so effortless. These days Walker is 53 years old, nearly 20 years removed from his last game in the NFL. And effortless would be the last word his family and friends would use to describe his daily quality of life. Like so many retired football players, Walker said he is paying a steep price for all those hits he took during his career, which lasted 13 years until 1989. But what makes Walker different from many former football players, however, is that he said he doesn't specifically know what's wrong with him. Or how to fix it.

Dispute between former NFL players, union escalates Former NFL players are encouraged to use a website to express their concerns over retirement plan. The move comes in response to the players' union setting up its own website to "get the facts out."

By Greg Johnson Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, October 5, 2007 The public relations battle between retired NFL players and their former union escalated again Thursday when a Chicago-based retiree group encouraged former players to publicize gripes about the union's pension and medical disability plan on its website. The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund described its move as a counter to "dirty play tactics" by the NFL Players Assn., which on Sept. 27 established a website to help correct what it described as false allegations by retirees who believe they have been short-changed by the league's retirement system. Former NFL player and coach Mike Ditka, who invited former players to post their stories on gridirongreats.org during a news conference in Chicago, described the union's website as "deplorable" and "despicable." Ditka, who last month testified about alleged medical disability plan shortcomings during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, called upon union leaders to "focus their attention on fixing a pathetic disability program."

Dead athletes' brains show damage from concussions

NEW: Researchers find start of brain damage in 18-year old athlete who died NEW: Same type of brain damage found in sixth dead NFL player Damage from repeated concussions is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy Symptoms can include depression, sleep disorders, headaches

By Stephanie Smith, January 27, 2009 CNN Medical Producer (CNN) -- For years after his NFL career ended, Ted Johnson could barely muster the energy to leave his house. "I'd [leave to] go see my kids for maybe 15 minutes," said Johnson. "Then I would go back home and close the curtains, turn the lights off and I'd stay in bed. That was my routine for two years. "Those were bad days."

These days, the former linebacker is less likely to recount the hundreds of tackles, scores of quarterback sacks or the three Super Bowl rings he earned as a linebacker for the New England Patriots. He is more likely to talk about suffering more than 100 concussions. "I can definitely point to 2002 when I got back-to-back concussions. That's where the problems started," said Johnson, who retired after those two concussions. "The depression, the sleep disorders and the mental fatigue."

Until recently, the best medical definition for concussion was a jarring blow to the head that temporarily stunned the senses, occasionally leading to unconsciousness. It has been considered an invisible injury, impossible to test -- no MRI, no CT scan can detect it. But today, using tissue from retired NFL athletes culled posthumously, the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE), at the Boston University School of Medicine, is shedding light on what concussions look like in the brain. The findings are stunning. Far from innocuous, invisible injuries, concussions confer tremendous brain damage. That damage has a name: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Local ex-pro fights NFL

Dave Pear, others struggle for medical and pension benefits

By Kerry Eggers, The Portland Tribune, Feb 1, 2008

“I do enjoy football,” says Pear, 54, twice an All-Pro nose tackle during his six-year NFL career. “It was my life for so long. “My only complaint is, once you become injured, the NFL does not live up to the bargain. Don’t get hurt playing. Once you do, baby, you’re on your own.” Pear got hurt during his years with Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Oakland (1975 to 1980). He retired at age 27 after winning a 1981 Super Bowl ring with the Raiders. He has had seven spinal surgeries and four fused discs, and has four screws in his lower back. Over the next three years, he says, he will need surgery to replace both hips and to remove the screws from his back.

That’s not to mention the countless concussions he says he suffered during his time in the NFL – injuries that may have resulted in one or more strokes. He currently takes 15 pills daily (including Neurontin and Lamictal) for pain control and sleeping aid.

“I’m in chronic pain,” says Pear, who played at the University of Washington from 1972-74. “When I walk, it irritates my hips. I’m walking with a cane to take the pressure off my back. I fall asleep during the day, have vertigo and short-term memory loss from repeated concussions.”

Pear, who says he is unable to hold a job, is among a growing group of ex-players who are challenging the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan. He and his wife, Heidi, live on the salary she receives from working two jobs, plus his $606 monthly NFL pension check – since he qualified in 2004 – along with an additional $2,000 a month from the Social Security Administration disability fund.

Monday, December 3, 2007 Congress questions NFL record-keeping on disabled players By Peter Keating ESPN The Magazine While the NFL has insisted that it is committed to helping disabled former players, the league does not maintain records of which players, or how many, are driven from the game by injury, ESPN.com has learned. That fact is contained in more than 2,000 pages of documents the NFL and NFL Players Association delivered to the House Judiciary Committee last month. It has startled members of Congress who are investigating the NFL's disability benefits. And it has added to a growing feeling among key members of the House and Senate that the league's business practices deserve increased scrutiny and possibly new regulation. "Neither the NFL nor the NFLPA keeps data on players who retire due to injury, a simple fact that I find amazing," Rep. Linda Sanchez, D - Calif., who chairs the House Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, told ESPN.com. "Sometimes you don't keep track of something when you don't want to know what the answers are."

USA Today Sports

Brees: Retired players' story 'different than reality'

TAMPA -- Saints QB Drew Brees rejected criticism of late NFLPA chief Gene Upshaw on Thursday and said the former union leader was instrumental in getting improved benefits to all players. For alumni players who are disabled, Brees said the players are happy to help and are looking for better ways to determine eliginility for disability payments. Former player Mike Lucci said Thursday that Upshaw "didn't care, or he was in somebody's pocket" at a Gridiron Greats forum in which former players complained that the league and current players are not compensating the retirees.

But Brees said that the Gridirdon Greats' claims are "unfair because the picture they're painting is different than reality." "There's some guys out there that have made bad business decisions," he said. "They took their pensions early because they never went out and got a job. They've had a couple divorces and they're making payments to this place and that place. And that's why they don't have money. And they're coming to us to basically say 'Please make up for my bad judgment.'”

Bitter Battle for the Old Guard

He succeeded in the trenches at Super Bowls and bargaining tables, but NFL union boss Gene Upshaw is under siege again -- only this time he's butting heads with angry, hurting vets from his generation…

By Gary Smith, Sports Illustrated

Posted: Thursday January 31, 2008

Big Red alumni speak out By Dan O'Neill ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH Sunday, Oct. 28 2007 Thirty years ago, Tom Banks was an All-Pro center, the axis of a football Cardinals offensive line that was among the best in the game. Today, Banks is unable to work and survives on Social Security disability. Thirty years ago, Mel Gray was among the most dangerous deep threats in the NFL and one of the fastest humans alive. Today, Gray is unable to ascend a flight of stairs and walks with a pronounced limp. Thirty years ago, Conrad Dobler was a cover boy for Sports Illustrated, which touted him as “Pro Football’s Dirtiest Player.” Today, 13 knee operations and five knee replacements later, Dobler is a poster boy for the crippling consequences of a career in the NFL trenches. Thirty years ago, the 1977 football Cardinals finished 7-7 to bring an unceremonious end to the memorable era of the “Cardiac Cardinals.” Today, they represent a segment of the NFL population that feels abandoned by a game they loved, a “game” that in some cases exacted a debilitating price. The NFL is estimated to be a $7.1 billion industry, an entertainment based on physical combat in modern Roman coliseums. A recent Los Angeles Times survey of retired NFL players showed that 78 percent of ex-players reported some kind of physical disability from their playing days. Yet, in a meeting of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, chairwoman Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) noted that fewer than 3 percent of former players are receiving long-term disability benefits.

A Hobbled Star Battles the NFL Doctors say football left Victor Washington 'totally disabled.' Two decades later, the league still disagrees. By ELLEN E. SCHULTZ Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL December 3, 2005; Page A1 Football propelled Victor Washington from an orphanage in Elizabeth, N.J., to the National Football League. He starred as a rookie and was selected for the Pro Bowl after the 1971-72 season. But few teams he faced gave him more trouble than the NFL itself, after his playing days.

Summit Schedule

Date Time Component/Topic Speaker/Presenter 5/28 5:00 PM Early Registration until 7PM 5/29 8:00 AM Registration Opens

8:50 AM National Anthem Marvin Cobb (Advocate) 8:55 AM Welcome/Summit Overview Jane Arnett (Summit Moderator) 9:05 AM Roll Call Attendee Introductions 9:50 AM Pension Plan Reform Tony Davis (Advocate), Jeff Nixon (Advocate) 10:30 AM Michael Wagner (Pension Plan Specialist) 11:15 AM Workers’ Comp Issues Mel Owens (Workers’ Comp Attorney) 11:45 AM Lunch Break 1:00 PM Health/Medical Issues Daniel G. Amen, M.D. (Clinical Neuroscientist & Brain-Imaging Expert) 1:50 PM Rick Sponaugle, M.D. (Certified Addiction Medical Specialist) 2:40 PM Christopher Nowinski (President, Sports Legacy Institute) 3:35 PM Injury Consultation Clinton Jones (Chiropractor), Daniel Varela (Deep Tissue Kinesiologist) 3:45 PM Caretaker Panel Discussion Kay Morris (Mrs. Larry Morris), Suzie Heywood (widow of Ralph Heywood),

Brandi Winans (former Mrs. Jeff Winans, Advocate) 4:45 PM Disability Plan Reform Dave & Heidi Pear (Advocates), John Hogan (Disability Attorney) 7:00 PM Dinner 8:30 PM Attendee Input/Response Optional 5/30 9:30 AM Technology Tools Robert Lee (Advocates Web Publisher - Dave Pear's Blog)

10:00 AM Class Action Potential Shawn Stuckey (Class Action Attorney) 10:30 AM Media Panel Discussion Bill Dwyer (former LA Times Sports Editor), Diane Grassi (Freelance Columnist),

Michael Ingram (associate editor for Black Athlete Sports Network) 11:30 AM Leadership Through Action Rory Fanning (Pat Tillman Foundation) 12:00 PM Lunch Break 1:30 PM Dallas Project-Football World Butch Johnson (former player) 2:00 PM NFL Alumni Project Bruce Laird (Fourth & Goal President), Tony Davis (Advocate) 3:00 PM Support & Resources 3:30 PM NFLPA & NFL Concerns Valerie Thomas (former NFLPA employee) 4:15 PM History & Strategy Bob Grant (Advocate) 5:00 PM Attendee Input/Response 6:30 PM Dinner 5/31 9:30 AM Attendee Input/Response

11:00 AM Closing Remarks Advocates 12:00 PM Summit Conclusion Jane Arnett, Marvin Cobb

Summit Notes:

Presentations will be broken up into thirty-minute segments, with "bio breaks" as necessary. Times, topics, and speakers are flexible, and may be subject to change with the exception of the Health &

Medical Issues component on Friday afternoon due to speaker's travel schedules. All NFL and AFL retirees are welcome, and encouraged to bring members of your family and/or support

system.

Speaker Biographies (in order of appearance)

Marvin Cobb Summit Coordinator Marvin Cobb graduated from high school with honors, and attended the University of Southern California on academic scholarship. Marvin graduated on the Dean’s List at USC, was an Academic All-American, was named one of the NCAA Top Five Student Athletes, was a Rhodes Scholar Nominee and was a winner of the prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship Award. While playing on four NCAA championship teams (two football and two baseball teams under legendary USC coaches, John McKay and Rod Dedeaux), Marvin achieved All-American status in both sports. He went on to play professional football with the Cincinnati Bengals for six years (serving as the NFLPA Player Representative), and then worked five years as a top producing Marketing Representative for the IBM Corporation. Mr. Cobb returned to USC as an Assistant Athletic Director responsible for academic programming, and achieved an almost 50% increase in the graduation rate for all USC student-athletes. He worked at USC for 10 years before entering the field of non-profit educational enrichment programs, including stints with the LA Sports Academy (an after school program for inner city middle schools), the California Academic Decathlon (a national high school scholastic competition), and Operation Hope’s award-winning financial literacy program for inner city students, Banking On Our Future. Marvin is currently an affiliate of the Long Beach based Executive Consulting firm providing interim executive management solutions to non-profit agencies in transition.

Jane Arnett Summit Moderator

Jane Arnett is the wife of “Jaguar” Jon Arnett (former USC Trojan and Ram great), who together are the founders of The Retired Professional Athletes Association. Since meeting in the Executive Search business 28 years ago, Jane and Jon have spent the last five years actively working to support fellow retirees, who although were not “marquee” players, still gave of their youth, bodies, minds and spirits to the foundation and growth of professional football. The Arnetts work for those whose football contributions may no longer be remembered by the public even as their bodies still carry the scars.

Tony Davis Tony Davis graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education and Marketing, and with the title of all time leading rusher. Drafted by the Bengals (1977 Team MVP) and traded to the Bucs, Tony played in the league from 1976 to 1981. He has spoken and instructed, over the past 25 years at high schools, colleges and corporations all over the United States and hosted 4 different Sports Talk shows from Cincinnati to Lincoln. Tony has worked for the past 5 years with young men in addiction recovery and is on the Recovery Board of Addiction Recovery Services. He is currently the Marketing and Program Director at ESPN 870 AM in Ft. Collins Colorado. Tony is a devoted Advocate for the NFL Retired Players, having established and maintained lobbying efforts on behalf of retirees with various members of Congress. Over the last 4 years, many retired players have been recipients of his email communications in an attempt to keep all former players aware of the issues.

Jeff Nixon

Born in Germany, Jeff Nixon spent his high school days in Virginia, and played college football at the University of Richmond from 1975-1978, where he was an All-American during his last three years. He played for the Buffalo Bills from 1979-1984 until a career-ending knee injury. Jeff led the team with 6 interceptions in his rookie year, and in 1980 was named Sports Illustrated Defensive Player of the Month for September.

During the Buffalo Bills football season, Jeff is a sports analyst on WKBW-TV's AM Buffalo. Jeff also hosts an internet radio show "The Jeff Nixon Sports Report" that airs every Monday night on Voice America, and he is the host of the blog "NFL Retired Players United." He currently works as the Youth Employment Director for the City of Buffalo, and has long been a strong voice on behalf of retired players.

Michael Wagner

Mike Wagner, Managing Director, heads the JP Morgan Asset Management National Taft-Hartley/Labor Union Group based in Chicago. The team manages over $6 billion in assets representing 95 Labor Unions in North America, including 33 of the largest union pension plans. Mike has over 22 years of experience in the investment business working with labor unions, public plans and large corporate plan sponsors.

Prior to joining the firm, Mike was an equity portfolio manager at Chicago Equity Partners, and a trader with Pacific Brokerage Services. He earned a B.S. in business administration from Elmhurst College and an M.B.A. in finance from Loyola University of Chicago. Mike is a member of the Investment Analyst Society of Chicago and The CFA Institute.

Mel Owens Mel Owens is a former linebacker in the NFL. Owens was selected in the first round by the Los Angeles Rams out of the University of Michigan in the 1981 NFL Draft, and played his entire professional career for the Rams, finishing his ten seasons with 26.5 quarterback sacks. Owens played his entire professional career for the Rams and finished his ten seasons with 26.5 quarterback sacks. Mel attended the University of Michigan, playing in three Rose Bowls and one Gator Bowl, while graduating with a degree in political science. Following his time as an NFL player, Owens returned to school and attended University of California Hastings College of Law receiving his Juris Doctor degree. Owens now practices law in Southern California and is a partner with the law firm of Namanny, Byrne & Owens, specializing in assisting veteran athletes pursue worker's compensation and disability claims in state court.

Dr. Daniel Amen Dr. Daniel Amen is a psychiatrist, brain imaging specialist, Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and medical director and CEO of the Amen Clinics in Newport Beach and Fairfield, California, Tacoma, Washington and Reston, Virginia. Amen Clinics has the world's largest database of brain scans, now totaling nearly 50,000 scans, and the clinics have seen patients from 75 countries. Dr. Amen is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Dr. Amen is the author of 22 books, including two New York Times bestsellers, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life and Magnificent at Any Age. He has also recently written and produced three highly successful specials that have raised more than 15 million dollars for public television. Dr. Amen and the Amen Clinics are currently sponsoring the largest brain imaging study ever done on former NFL players, attempting to scientifically answer the question about the impact brain trauma of professional football players. The Amen Clinics: http://www.amenclinics.com/

Dr. Marvin "Rick" Sponaugle Dr. Rick Sponaugle is the Founder and Medical Director of The Florida Detox & Wellness Center®. Dr. Rick majored in pre-med and chemistry, and received his MD degree from West Virginia University before attending the University of Florida where he performed residency training in intensive care medicine and anesthesiology. In 1985, Dr. Rick began private practice as a board certified anesthesiologist in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. In 1998, he began to examine the antiquated and dangerous detoxification regimens practiced by addiction doctors in America. Utilizing his cardiac/intensive care expertise, along with advances in brain science, specifically knowledge derived from PET and SPECT scan imaging at the Amen Clinics and the National Institute of Drug Addiction, and combining that knowledge with extensive clinical research at the Florida Detox & Wellness Center, Dr. Sponaugle has developed much safer and painless detoxification techniques for alcohol and drugs, and successfully treated over 5,000 patients. Dr. Sponaugle now receives referrals from major universities, the Amen Clinics in California, Dr. Phil and individual physicians throughout the United States and Canada, and has been featured on numerous national media entities including Dr. Phil, CNN, Fox News, ABC News and NBC News. The Florida Detox & Wellness Institute: http://www.floridadetox.com/

Christopher Nowinski

Chris Nowinski is the founder and president of the Sports Legacy Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to solving the sports concussion crisis. A former Harvard football player and WWE professional wrestler, Chris was forced to retire from a series of concussions in 2003. His challenging recovery from post-concussion syndrome led him to write the book Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis, published in 2006, in an effort to educate parents, coaches, and children about this previously hidden public health issue.

Today he serves as a Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine, a member of the board of directors of the Brain Injury Association of America and a consultant with Trinity Partners, LLC, in Waltham, MA, where he specializes in commercial strategy and licensing and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Visit Sports Legacy Institute at: http://www.sportslegacy.org/

Daniel Varela Danny Varela, Advanced Sports Kinesiologist, Founder of the Deep Tissue Center has been working with elite, Olympic, and professional athletes in various sports since 1992. Within his 25 years of experience, he has developed the system called Body Pattern Synchronization Therapy, and within his first 6 months of practice was involved with some of the nation’s top sprinters and NFL athletes. By 1996, Danny’s Olympic clients had garnered 11 Gold Medals and countless Silver Medals. In 2004, he was part of the medical staff in Athens, Greece, and again at the 2005 USA National Track and Field Championships. Danny Varela has also been a staple for the Home Depot Adidas Classic for the last 5 years, the Mount SAC Relays, and the California Relays Invitational in Modesto for the past 16 years, and is currently working with some Major League Baseball Players and retired NFL Football players. The Deep Tissue Center: http://www.deeptissuecenter.com/

Dr. Clinton Jones Clinton Jones attended Michigan State University and was All-America in football and track in the mid-sixties. He was a first round draft pick in 1967 along with Alan Page and Gene Washington, and played for the Vikings and the Chargers. In 1974, Jones was one of eleven players that sued the NFL and Pete Rozelle in the John Mackey class action suit that paved the way for the Kermit Alexander suit. Upon leaving the NFL, Clinton went into the practice of Chiropractic Care, and has been practicing with his wife, Dr. Rosielee Jones for almost 30 years now.

Suzie Heywood (widow of Ralph Heywood) Suzie Heywood is from Texas. She is a Christian, a Mom, a Grandmom, a Teacher, a Coach and the widow of Col. Ralph A Heywood, United States Marine Corp. and professional football player.

Brandi Winans Brandi is the author of her new book, The Flip Side of Glory, detailing her life and marriage to former NFL Player Jeff Winans and their 17-year fight for his NFL Disability Income. She is also author of The Wannabe Seminars, The Stepping Stones of Life, a former Radio Host of Parents Talk Teens Rap Radio Show in Tampa, Florida and is a D.i.S.C. Behavioral Trainer. She is a Board of Director and Past President of The Boys & Girls Club of the Suncoast Guild, President and Board Member of Day For Our Children, Inc., a member of the District 6 Department of Juvenile Justice Steering Committee, and founder of the Wannabe Outreach Program for Troubled Teens. She is a member of the National Assoc. of Women Writers, The Florida Writers Association, and Pinellas County Schools Speakers Bureau. Her “I believe in you” attitude makes her a sought-after speaker.

Dave Pear

After growing up in Portland, Oregon, Dave Pear attended the University of Washington on an athletic scholarship and played defensive tackle for the UW Huskies from 1971 – 1975, graduating with a degree in Political Science.

Dave was the first Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-26) player to be selected to the Pro Bowl in 1978 and played in Super Bowl XV in 1980 for the Oakland Raiders, the first wild card team to capture a title. Dave has had more than ten operations and surgical procedures over the past 30 years, primarily on his lower back and neck, averaging one operation every two-and-a-half years since his retirement from pro football.

Visit Dave’s blog is: http://www.DavePear.com

“I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses.”

John V. Hogan John Hogan has been practicing law for 31 years, 29 of them devoted to disability law. A former attorney-advisor with the Social Security Administration’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, his practice includes representing claimants seeking disability benefits from the Social Security Administration, Long Term Disability Insurance Carriers and the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Retirement Plan. He has also handled disability claims in the United States Court of Veterans’ Appeals and the United States Railroad Retirement Board. He is presently on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives and Fourth and Goal. He is the author of Illegal Procedure: NFL Disability Claims and the Retired Football Players’ Proposals for Meaningful Changes to the NFL Disability System. http://www.JohnVHogan.com

Robert Lee Robert Lee is a Seattle entrepreneur whose diverse background encompasses computer programming and hardware design, marketing consulting, advertising and electronic payment systems. As part of the remarkable transformation of technology in the last 25 years, Robert is known for his unique ability to put high-tech concepts into application. During his professional career, he has founded and built a number of successful businesses in the United States and Canada. Robert is currently founder and CEO of two companies: TVDeeBee, soon to be the largest online database of American television information and ACME Payment Systems, a micropayment processing network for digital content providers. Previously, Lee was the founder and CEO of UTM Systems Corp., the first company to successfully enable online PIN-based debit transactions within the US debit networks. During his early tech career in the 1980’s, he founded SpectraFAX Corp., where he developed and marketed the first PC-based color digital scanners as well the first fax-modems.

Shawn D. Stuckey

Shawn D. Stuckey is a retired NFL linebacker who played for the New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings. Mr. Stuckey also played for the only champions of the XFL’s Xtreme Football League – the Los Angeles Xtreme. Shawn grew up in Alabama and attended Vanderbilt University and Troy University to achieve a B.S.B.A in Marketing and Business Administration after retiring from football. Mr. Stuckey then attended The Citadel where he worked on his M.B.A. and went on to graduate with high distinction as a member of the Dean’s List from the University of St. Thomas where he received his doctor of laws degree.

Shawn is currently a complex litigation attorney at Zelle Hofmann in Minneapolis, Minnesota where his practice consists of class actions, antitrust, securities and insurance coverage litigation. Zelle Hofmann is recognized as one of the premier complex litigation law firms in the United States and has been ranked as the number one antitrust firm in the United States by a major legal publication, having achieved the largest recoveries ever in class action lawsuits against Microsoft in several states. In addition to these matters, Mr. Stuckey’s firm has extensive experience with regard to handling matters involving professional sports leagues and athletes.

Bill Dwyre Bill Dwyre was sports editor of The Times for 25 years until he stepped down in May '06 to write a twice-weekly column. Dwyre, 62, was named National Editor of the Year in 1985 by the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., for his direction of his paper's 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympic coverage. He won the Red Smith Award from the Associated Press Sports Editors in 1996 for service to sports journalism. Other awards include the Subiaco Arkansas Academy's Literary Award of Merit, Powerade Sports Story of the Year from the National Assn. of Sportscasters and Sportswriters, Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year in 1980; National Headliner Award in 1985 and Los Angeles Times Award for Sustained Excellence, also in 1985. Dwyre is a past president of the APSE, a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Notre Dame's John Galivan Program in Journalism, Ethics and Democracy, and a member of the board of directors of Casa Colina Hospitals for Rehabilitation in Pomona. Dwyre is a 1966 graduate of Notre Dame, in Communication Arts. He worked on the sports staff of the Des Moines Register, 1966-'68, and the Milwaukee Journal, 1968-'81. He was sports editor of the Journal from 1975-'81, before moving to The Times. He is a native of Sheboygan, WI, is married to the former Jill Jarvis, has two grown children, Amy and Patrick, and lives in San Dimas.

Diane Grassi Diane Grassi is a freelance columnist, reporting and writing commentary on current events of the day that provide honest and often politically-incorrect assessments. From U.S. public policy to Major League Baseball, she is an eclectic thinker and demanding of her readers to reflect on their own thinking patterns from an alternative perspective. Whether you agree with her or not, Diane Grassi will have you coming back to note her opinions, and if at best she wakes you up, then her goal will have been accomplished. Ms. Grassi is featured with the online publications: New Media Journal.us, Veteran's Today, MichNews.com, Opinions Editorials, the Conservative Voice, the Hawaii Reporter, Liberty Watch Magazine, as well as many others. She also writes regular columns on Major League Baseball where she is a featured online columnist with The Diamond Angle Baseball Ezine and Sports-Central.org.

Michael-Louis Ingram Michael - Louis Ingram is an associate editor for the Black Athlete Sports Network (BASN) and an on - air host for BASN and blogtalkradio.com. Mr. Ingram is also a senior partner at footballreportersonline.com, and the Scouting Director for the Gridiron Draft Guide, as well as Sports Editor for Suavv, a men’s magazine based out of Philadelphia. He has written about football for over 20 years, and was an on - air analyst for CKNW 980 and CITR 101.9 FM in Vancouver, Canada, where he covered the NFL and the Canadian Football League from 1997 - 2001. He began his career writing for Blitz Magazine in Düsseldorf, Germany and was a significant contributor in the American Bundesliga scene before the creation of what would eventually become NFL Europe, and was an enterprise reporter/columnist for the Philadelphia Tribune before joining BASN in 2006. His current book project, The Best We Never Saw, focuses on personal accounts of athletes and those who cover them as to their eyewitness accounts of peers or people they knew had the talent to become great, but encountered obstacles that changed their future. Visit BASN at: http://www.blackathlete.com

Rory Fanning

Rory Fanning is honoring the late Cardinals safety Pat Tillman by walking across the United States raising funds for his fallen friend’s foundation. His eight-month mission is to raise the same amount of money ($3.6 million) that Tillman turned down with the Cardinals to fight for his country. "I was just sitting on my couch last year just generally frustrated with the leadership in this country," Fanning said, "and rather than throw up my hands in frustration, I decided to walk across the country for someone who was a model of leadership, and that was Pat."

Fanning, who is a banker from Chicago, met Tillman while training for the Army and was heavily influenced by his leadership qualities. Tillman was killed by friendly fire while in Afghanistan in 2004. A graduate of Notre Dame, Rory served two tours in Afghanistan with the 2nd Army Ranger Battalion after signing up in response to the Sept. 11th attacks. Pat Tillman also signed up after Sept. 11, turning down a $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals.

Frustrated by the leadership he saw in government and Wall Street, Fanning hatched a plan to promote Tillman’s legacy and encourage future leaders through the foundation’s scholarships and mentoring programs for young people. “I wanted to promote his model of leadership,” he said. Rory is seeking 1.8 million people to give $2 to the Pat Tillman Foundation. The Pat Tillman Foundation: http://www.pattillmanfoundation.org/

Butch Johnson

Butch Johnson is a Psychology graduate of the University of California at Riverside, and has earned the equivalent of an MBA. Butch was Dallas's third-round draft choice in 1976 and spent eight years as a kick returner and receiver for the Cowboys, including standout performances on Dallas's 1978 and 1979 Super Bowl teams. He then went on to play two years for the Denver Broncos.

Since retiring from the NFL, Butch has participated in a number of highly successful business ventures, ranging from fast food franchises and new car dealerships to multi-use land development projects valued as high as $200 million. He has also been an on-screen personality for the three major TV networks, and served as a government lobbyist for both non-profit and private-sector companies.

Butch currently is Managing and General Partner of the American Football World, LLC, a major educational and research institution to be built in Dallas. He also serves as Sr. Global Director for Community Affairs and Sports Marketing for Mannatech, Inc., a leading nutritional supplements company.

Bruce Laird

Bruce Allan Laird was a four-sport star for Scituate High and attended American International College in Springfield, Mass., earning college division all-American honors his junior and senior years, while receiving a degree in history and political science. Between 1974 and 1981, Laird started 114 of the Baltimore Colts’ 118 regular season games, earning all-AFC honors from Pro Football Weekly and the New York Daily News and all-pro honors from Sports Illustrated in 1980.

He is senior marketing executive for Multi-Specialty Healthcare and a spokesman for Cystic Fibrosis, Leukemia/Lymphoma. Bruce also is currently President of the Baltimore Chapter of NFLRPA and President of the Baltimore Football Club, a nonprofit that advocates for the needs of retired NFL players from the 1950’s to the present. The Baltimore Football Club has a marketing arm known as Fourth and Goal, which has a national presence and includes over 2,000 retired NFL players.

Visit Fourth & Goal at: http://www.FourthandGoalUnites.com

Valerie Thomas

Valerie Thomas received her Master’s degree in Urban Planning and Public Administration from Texas Southern University, her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish and French languages from Hampton (University) Institute, her Shop Steward Certificate from the George Meany Labor Studies Center, and her Paralegal certificate from the American University. In 1983, she became the Chief Shop Steward and represented the NFLPA bargaining unit through Local 2, Office and Professional Employees International Union, AFL-CIO. She also worked in the Special Events and Licensing Department as an administrative assistant. Valerie gained further NFLPA experience as an analyst in the Research Department, where in 1988 she was wrongfully terminated. In the fight against her termination in the judicial system, a 1996 decision in the US District Court, DC found the NFLPA guilty of retaliation in violation of Title VII. Under administrative law, in 1997, Ms. Thomas was reinstated via arbitration award. She reported to work and was denied reinstatement. By court order in 1999, she was reinstated and returned to work as a Paralegal in the Legal Department, and was fired again in 2003. Litigation is currently pending in a complaint that was filed in 2000 on her behalf, by Local 2 OPEIU against the NFLPA in the US District Court, District of Columbia. The parties have denied Ms. Thomas due process, and the NFLPA has dragged out the legal process for years through denials, delays and appeals.

Bob Grant Summit Producer Bob Grant, Advocate and President of North Shore Traders, inc., attended Wake Forest University and was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the 2nd round in 1968. He played a leading role in the American Civil Rights Movement during the dangerous and tumultuous nineteen-sixties, and was the first Black athlete to play at any major Southern University, along with roommates William Smith and Ken Henry. He was also the first Black player from any major southern university to be drafted by the National Football League. Bob is a strong member of Bernie Parrish’s team in his fight to right many of the wrongs done to retired National Football League players, and supports Parrish’s past and planned court campaigns. Both Bob and Bernie believe that Retired Players have given too much power to various groups and charismatic leaders in the past, and that the time has come to require all groups to come to us with one issue at a time when they want our endorsement or support. Bob is the Producer of this Summit and has encouraged all Groups, Advocates and Retired Players to join in and speak out at this great gathering.

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Special Acknowledgments

In putting together this “first of its kind” event, there were opportunities for men to step up in a way that would make us all proud if we knew the details. They asked me not to mention them, and I told them I wouldn’t… I lied. Without the participation, contributions and the personal courage of the following men, this Summit would not have been the same. You are indeed “men amongst men.” Thank you.

Abner Haynes

John Hogan

John Houser

David Humm

Robert Lee

Bernie Parrish

Dave Pivec

Howard Slusher

Marvin Cobb Summit Coordinator