Darryl Talley's Story

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By now most everyone in Buffalo has read the excellent Buffalo News story written by Tim Graham about former Bills linebacker Darryl Talley.

Talley is "Broken and Broke".

People cheered Talley for his toughness. He was a good player on the Bills Super Bowl teams. He didn't miss work. He hit hard. He thinks he had his bell rung hundreds of times. He saw a little light show each time he took the huge hit.

So.

He knew the risks, right?

He got paid great money.

He's on his own after he retires.

We all have problems.

Except I have been screaming about the evils of the NFL for the better part of a couple of years.

How many Darryl Talley's are there?

Right now! Right now!

Tony Romo is back in the line up after hearing that he had fractures in his back. The Cowboys are good this year. They need Romo to play. The docs said it'll be fine. The owner talks about Romo being tough. Romo eats it up. He's a competitor. The doc said he's good to go!

20 years from now, perhaps, Romo is home. He can't walk 30 feet without pain. He is completely forgotten by the employer. Fans are saying that he was stupid for not making the right choice. His toughness is no longer questioned because no one cares!

No one cares!

Entertain us! I have money on the game!! You're on my fantasy team! Suck it up, Cutler! Get out there!! Your team needs you!!

I feel bad for all of the guys who left the game in tatters. The league is saying all the right things now. They're pretending that they're treating concussions perfectly now. They don't admit that they were lying back when Talley was playing.

We just didn't have all the information.

Really?

You needed thirty years of study to tell you that ramming your head into things 40 times a week could have consequences?

You needed to hear from the medical community to know for certain that waking up a guy with smelling salts, shooting him up with painkillers, and tapping him on the ass wasn't the actual way to treat a guy who was unconscious?

That's not even mentioning the people who have been paralyzed, or had their legs snapped in two.

"These guys are tough!"

The NFL's Greatest Hits!!

All packaged and sold.

And Talley can't get medical insurance unless another player pays the premium for him.

Sad.

The Bills response?

They put Talley on the wall of honor...next to Orenthal.

They didn't really return the phone calls.

Because that's what the NFL has told them to do.

Don't acknowledge it or we'll be paying for all the damn guys we maimed!

We need to keep every single dime! We don't steal nearly enough from the fans, the cheerleaders or the breast cancer awareness day we do every year!!

Hell, we're a not for profit league! What are we supposed to do to help? Our commish is only making 35 million a year...is he supposed to live in poverty?

You want us to pay taxes and medical insurance?

Don't look too long, fans.

Talley has problems. They're his problems.

Good luck..

...Thanks for the memories.

...You'll be fine.

Don't pull a Duerson or a Seau!

That would really make us sad.

Until the next game starts.

(The NFL is evil).

End of rant.

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