Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson Leads the Latest Group of Retirees

On Monday, a group of 15 retirees filed suit against the NFL alleging that it did not do enough to prevent the long-term damage caused by concussions.  The group is led by Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson and two-time Pro Bowler Hoyle Granger.

The lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Texas by the law firm Provost Umphrey.

Among the 15 retirees suing, are the Estates of David Lunceford and Hall of Famer Ernie Stautner. The lawsuit alleges that both players were suffering from Alzheimer’s at the time of their death. Lunceford died at the age of 75 in May 2009, and Stautner died at the age of 80 in February 2006. Quizzically, the lawsuit does not specifically assert a wrongful-death claim.

Updated 5/22/2012 @ 9:23 a.m.

Yet another lawsuit was filed on Monday in the Superior Court of California — Los Angeles: Johnnie Morton et al v. NFL. It names 13 former players as plaintiffs. The most notable player is 12-season veteran Johnnie Morton who played primarily for the Detroit Lions and then played three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. According to a few astute Tweeps, they notified me that Morton also tried MMA fighting after walking away from football. Here’s a video of him getting knocked out in his first fight. 

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This will undoubtedly be raised by the NFL as a contributing cause to Morton’s alleged cognitive decline.

The other 12 players named in the Morton suit are Kez McCorvey; Kurt Barber; Mike Sherrard; Stockar McDougle; Toi Cook; Brian Dudley; Brad Booth; Chris Hale; John Jackson; Dennis Clay; Norman Scott Byers and Darryl Crane.

There are now 81 concussion-related lawsuits filed against the NFL, which include more than 2,240 former players.