Former NY Giants George Martin elected
executive director of the Fourth and Goal
Foundation |
The retired player group NFL Alumni, which recently joined with the retired player advocate group Fourth and Goal Foundation, elected former New York Giant George Martin as new executive director. The group hopes to represent the interests of retired players, especially with a new collective bargaining agreement on the horizon.
Martin was elected by a six-person search committee who considered more than 140 candidates. Martin’s duties will begin right away, he is scheduled to attend an NFL owners’ meeting next week in Boston as a representative for retired players. “It’s a tremendous honor and privilege to have been granted the opportunity to serve as executive director on behalf of retired NFL players,” Martin said.
Martin founded and acted as director of an organization to raise money for heath care for rescue and recovery workers hurt responding to the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. He raised more than $3 million in his effort, which included a walk from New York to San Diego between September 2007 and June 2008.
The executive director of the NFL Players Association DeMaurice Smith released a statement congratulating Martin. The union’s director Andre Collins said he looked forward to working with Martin.
The players association, however, has not been on good terms with retired players advocates. As recently as August, Smith said a lockout in 2011 would “devastate” retired players’ benefits and that an uncapped season would reduce retired player pension and disability. Commissioner of the NFL Roger Goodell responded with a letter to Fourth and Goal President Bruce Laird. In the letter he said:
“Like you, I have seen statements attributed to DeMaurice Smith and other union representatives suggesting that retired players will have their pension or disability payments sharply reduced during an uncapped 2010 season. Simply put, those claims have no basis in fact. Indeed, in all of my conversations with DeMaurice Smith, he has never raised this subject with me. Had he done so, my answer would have been clear and unequivocal – there will be no reduction in pension or disability payments to retired players during 2010.”
Goodell went on to say that owners agreed not to reduce funding for pension or disability benefits for retired players, even in an uncapped year. In response to Goodell’s letter, NFL Alumni board member Harry Carson said, “I’m very happy to see Commissioner step forward to eliminate any misstatements or rumor floating out there that could be used in upcoming CBA (collective bargaining agreement) negotiations.”
Fourth and Goal web site:
http://fourthandgoalunites.com/
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Matthew Coller is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network, and is a freelance writer. He can be followed on Twitter
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