PHILADELPHIA ( Associated Press) — Hundreds of retired black former NFL players who were denied pay as part of a $1 billion shock settlement will now be entitled to compensation after being tested to eliminate racial bias.
Changes to last year’s agreement sought to remove the race from testing. The use of “racial criteria” in the dementia test made it difficult for African-American players to be tested for cognitive impairment to qualify for a $500,000 retirement award averaging $500,000.
Nearly 650 people have received a new rating on their dementia tests, according to a report released Friday by the law firm that brought the case against the NFL. Retired players met the rest of the requirements to receive compensation, which included hours of verification tests that proved their lives were affected and that they weren’t counterfeiting it.
Of the total, 51 now qualify for medium or advanced compensation, which varies based on their position and years in the league. About 250 have symptoms of dementia and will receive compensation of up to 35,000 in treatment and better medical tests. No one was initially eligible for compensation because of the racial standard of the tests.
The new results would add millions of dollars to the NFL’s total cast.
Thousands of retired black players will be able to search for new tests to see if they qualify under the new scoring formula. But advocates for former players fear that many people don’t know, especially if they have memory problems and live alone.
“Men who are homeless, men who were originally part but have changed their cognitive function, men who are divorced or separated – we are going to be looking for them,” said Amy Lewis, who The husband is with retired Washington player Kevin Jenkins. He called on the judge in charge of the case and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Department to deal with the problem of racial standardisation.
An NFL spokesperson did not immediately return a phone call or respond to an email requesting comment Friday.
