Hall of Famer Bruce Smith suffering from memory loss
NFL Hall of Famer Bruce Smith became the least former player to report issues from head injuries when he revealed Monday that he suffers memory loss and deals with constant pain stemming from a playing career that lasted 19 seasons.
The 52-year-old Smith retired in 2003 after a stellar career that included four Super Bowl appearances with the Buffalo Bills. The defensive end finished his career with 200 career sacks, still the most in NFL history.
And he’s now paying the price for the long career with memory loss. The current focus on preventing concussions wasn’t of major importance during his NFL career.
“I forget a lot of things sometimes,” Smith told reporters while attending former teammate Jim Kelly’s charity golf tournament in the Buffalo suburb of Batavia, N.Y. “I’m not one to sit here and complain. While I did not know the severity of what continuous head traumas could do to an individual and the mind and so forth, I’m not going to sit here and complain. I’m very blessed to be standing here.”
The physical toll is also an issue for a player who played in 299 games — 279 regular season, 20 postseason — for the Bills (1985-99) and Washington Redskins (2000-03).
The 11-time Pro Bowler said players didn’t have the information about concussions and he doesn’t believe the NFL will ever reveal the entire story of what they knew about the dangers.
NFL Twitter account hacked to say Goodell had died
The Twitter account of the NFL was hacked on Tuesday and a tweet was sent out to the masses saying NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had died.
The NFL quickly expressed that Goodell was alive. The league deleted the tweet and said that its account had been compromised.
“We have engaged law enforcement to look into the matter,” NFL vice president of communications Brian McCarthy said in a statement. “We are reviewing and strengthening our cyber-security measures.”
The tweet said the following: “We regret to inform our fans that our commissioner, Roger Goodell, has passed away. He was 57. #RIP.”
The hackers sent two other tweets from the NFL account after the Goodell one created a firestorm.
Mora receives two-year extension at UCLA
UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero announced the school reached a two-year extension with Jim Mora that puts the football coach under contract through the 2021 season.
No financial details were disclosed, but Mora was set to earn $3.35 million in 2015, second only to Washington’s Chris Petersen ($3.402 million) among Pac-12 coaches.
Mora is 37-16 with the Bruins, tying the program record for most victories through the first four seasons of a career, although he is a modest 23-13 in conference play.
Refs want league to stop end-of-game reports
The National Basketball Referees Association on Tuesday called for an end to the Last Two-Minute Reports issued by the NBA to assess the accuracy of calls late in games.
While the NBA’s goal is more transparency with fans, the union believes that making the reports public harms the officials and the game by potentially creating a hostile environment.
The union questioned the league’s intentions on transparency and said there is no evidence to suggest the reports have helped in that regard. It also outlined reforms and recommended changes should the league continue their publication.
“We call for an end to Last Two-Minute reporting and other transparency measures and a return to private, league-managed evaluations, reviews, education, training, and discipline for NBA officials,” the NBRA said in a statement.
In an earlier interview with USA Today, NBA executive vice president Kiki VanDeWeghe said he thinks the reports are important to share with the public.