OSG High: Kevin Turner's HS FB Team Honored On Anniversary

((HT: WSFA-TV))

It's the 30th anniversary season of the Prattville (AL) High football state championship and they were honored Friday night in front of their home crowd.

One of the stars of that squad was Kevin Turner- whose life the HQ has chronicled with his diagnosis of ALS and his battles over recognition of the disease by his former employer.

Full disclosure- the HQ donates to the Kevin Turner Foundation regularly as we do for other ALS charitable organizations.

Turner and his team were celebrated- as they should...

Here's the tribute of the special team with an equally special man in attendance
WSFA.com Montgomery Alabama news.

Others who graduated with Turner and the Prattville High Student Government Association raised more than $4,000 for his foundation and presented him the check at the game.

Here's the ceremony in full from Stacy Mills Facebook page

Post by Stacy Mills.

NFL And Courts Rescind Max Cap On Concussions Lawsuit, Kevin Turner Present On Capitol Hill

((HT: Kevin Turner Foundation))

The NFL agreed to remove the US$675 million cap on damages in the 20,000 concussion-related claims put forth in a lawsuit against the league since it was widely thought that the money would run out sooner than all affected could receive their part of the settlement.

The settlement is designed to last at least 65 years and cover retired players who develop ALS, dementia or other neurological problems believed to be caused by concussions suffered during their playing days.

The original settlement was:

$675 million for compensatory claims
$75 million for testing and
$10 million for medical research and education.

The NFL would also pay an additional $112 million to the players' lawyers

That cap is gone, but there is a formula that involves math concerning a plaintiff's age and severity of illness.

At the same time in Washington DC, something called the "Senate Aging Committee" met to figure out how to examine the long-term impact of sports-related brain injuries. Former WWE'er Chris Nowinski was scheduled to speak during the hearings.

But he wasn't the only one...

Here's the speech on Capitol Hill by Craig Sanderson- speaking for former Alabama running back Kevin Turner and the Kevin Turner Foundation

Post by The Kevin Turner Foundation.

Turner was quoted once the settlement was figured out:

"The compensation provided in this settlement will lift a heavy burden off of the men who are suffering," he said in a statement. "I am also personally comforted by the knowledge that this settlement is guaranteed to be there for any retired player who needs it."

Full disclosure: OSG Sports supports the Kevin Turner Foundation and others suffering from ALS

KT's New Challenge...

Just so you know... this is a column I wrote for our friends over at Georgia Public Broadcasting...
And I figured I would share it here...

If you mention the name Kevin Turner to the folks in Tuscaloosa, they have this picture in their mind of a guy who would run over you to get where he needed to go...

The soft hands could catch passes out of the backfield and then the size and frame would leave tire tread on you as he plowed his way forward. Turner spent nine years in the NFL as a fullback and a special teamer and now his battles are far different...

It's a battle to eat...
It's a battle to hold something in his hand- even for a second...
And shaking hands to greet a stranger for the first time is out of the question...

Turner has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis... Lou Gehrig's Disease...

This is the second time that I have been near someone who is fighting this animal that, I'm told in analogy, is like being a candle and having wicks at both ends that are lighted. And as the candle burns, that's the effect the disease has on the body. It goes from the outside in when it attacks...

The first time, you all know, was when those of us at GPB were introduced to former Greenville Head Coach Jeremy Williams. I can say that, after being with the Williams family, they are some of the bravest people I know. It's easy to make a correlation between Jeremy's hard-hitting style at Memphis as a punishing defensive back and how he is now. But it hasn't been divulged that his on-field stats are the cause of his health issues.

And we may never know...

But with Kevin Turner you see the same kind of strength and inner peace that I have seen in the Williams family. He and Jeremy see themselves as vessels to a greater message- and the message may differ from person to person.

I think that's the point...

Kevin is now one of the faces of the NFL concussion lawsuit- feeling deeply that those who run the sport he played
need to take a deeper responsibility for the actions of those who paved the way to form today's corporate monolith.

He thinks that shoulder pads shouldn't be used as much as they are...
He thinks that kids should be held out of playing the sport until their teen years because the body is being formed many times over until then. If a young kid wants to play football, and they express that interest to a parent... and Kevin means REALLY, REALLY, expresses that interest to a parent- wait a year... and then let the kid get the taste to play first-hand.

As a player, a coach of young kids learning to play, and as a parent... Turner has a lot to say... He's even let Jon Frankel follow him around to chronicle his battle with the disease... and the battle his family and close friends are part in as well...

Here's the trailer for "American Man..."


It's brave... it's eye-opening... and, something Turner said initially would be a fun thing to do...

You don't hear a lot of people say that... that opening up your life to one of its biggest challenges and baring your day-to-day struggles would be a fun thing to do. But Turner approaches this whole thing with a sense of humor. He knows that his life is different and will only get more so...

He joked with me that he can't text and drive as much as he used to...

But, I know, that the mission and the message will shine a light into some corners that need to be exposed.
Here's our short version of the conversation we had...


The long version is here...


And to find out more about the Kevin Turner Foundation, go to kevinturnerfoundation.org

For those of you who want to catch "American Man" it will be shown tonight at the Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta- action starts at 7 with the documentary kicking off at 8...

Be there... you might even see someone you know...
Play it safe, everyone... I'll see you soon...