Ex-Lions Tracy Scroggins files lawsuit against National Football League over CTE diagnosis

A class-action lawsuit was devised and filed before a court by former Lions defensive end Tracy Scroggins on Friday. The plaintiff is seeking $5 million after he was diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

According to Bleacher Report, longtime NFL defensive end Tracy Scroggins has filed a lawsuit against the NFL regarding CTE and football. Mike Florio  of Pro Football Talk said  the lawsuit must be made up of current and former players who have been diagnosed with the same illness.

In his complaint, the lawsuit alleges that NFL players were encouraged to do things on the field that left them at risk to head injuries. It was specified that during 1970s to 1990s, the players were "coached, trained and motivated to use all portions of their helmets to block, tackle, butt, spear, ram and/or injure opposing players by hitting their helmeted heads...despite the [NFL's] awareness that this practice was causing an increased risk in repeated head trauma."

Moreover, CNN reported that the lawsuit also indicates the names of UCLA researchers who tested former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Fred McNeill when he was still alive. The scan showed that tau, an abnormal protein, was seen in his brain. These spots were also located in the detected post-mortem in people who had CTE. McNeill died last November and his autopsy confirmed that he suffered from the aforementioned sickness. But there are claims that the type of test for tau isn't precise.

Meanwhile, the NFL strongly denies the lawsuit's claims as written by Sportal. NFL Spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement that "The complaint is barred by the concussion litigation settlement and we expect it to be dismissed." The expectation is due to Scroggins' membership of the settlement class and not choosing to opt out. Under the settlement agreement, Scroggins will not be able to pursue any action in court.

Scroggins' attorney has cited that his client is already experiencing the symptoms of CTE with memory loss, depression and outbursts of anger. These are consistent with CTE but can only be confirmed through a postmortem examination of the brain. CTE is notable to have been featured in the 2015 movie 'Concussion' with Mike Webster, former Pittsburg Steelers center, as the main profile.

Tags

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, CTE, NFL, Tracy Scroggins, concussion, brain trauma, UCLA, Fred McNeill

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