Martin reaches out to former players

Originally published July 28, 2010 at 7:10 p.m., updated July 28, 2010 at 8:12 p.m.

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(MCT) NEWARK, N.J. – With NFL training camps about to begin and players looking ahead with optimism about the coming season, former Giants defensive end George Martin sits in his office overlooking the Newark and New York skylines with an eye toward those no longer playing the game. Especially the ones who are hurting in one way or another.

“We know a vast number of former players, for a variety of reasons, fall on hard times,” said Martin, shortly after dedicating the new offices of the NFL Alumni Association. Martin, a member of the Giants’ 1986 Super Bowl championship team, is executive director of the organization. “It’s more than people realize, and we want to advocate for a better quality of life for our constituents.”

For many years after Martin’s career ended in 1988, he was involved in a less formal basis helping many of his teammates who had fallen on difficult economic times after their careers had ended. But now, his reach is much more far-reaching, with a chance to assist the nearly 4,000 members from all teams who belong to the organization.

“The problems the former players experience are more than most people realize,” said Martin, who played from 1975-88. “The biggest misconception out there is that if you’re a former pro athlete and you retire, you’re living on a golf course the rest of your life. We know that’s not the case. You look at issues facing our constituents today, and you see people dealing with the after-effects of concussions, joint replacements, arthritic pain. These are things that need to be addressed urgently.”

Martin’s group has the backing of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who has been outspoken in his desire to improve benefits for former players. While the league remains at odds with the NFL Players Association, which also has a retired players group, Goodell believes the league’s relationship with the NFL Alumni Association can be beneficial for both the league and the former players.

“The real focus here is with the retired players,” he said. “We want an organization that is advocating for us and for the retired players. We all stand on the shoulders of the people that came before us, and those retired players are some of the people we want to make sure we reach out to.”

Goodell is especially mindful of what today’s current players will go through after retirement, particularly with the increased emphasis on concussion awareness.

“All of the attention is good, because it brings a greater awareness, not only in the NFL, but every other level of football and every other sport,” he said. “Concussions are not unique to football and we believe we can make a different in the treatment of concussions for sports and people outside of sports.”

Goodell made his remarks outside an Alumni Association office named after John Mackey, the Colts Hall of Fame tight end who Mackey suffers from dementia because of repeated head trauma during his playing career. Mackey’s experience led to the creation of the “88 plan,” which was named after Mackey’s number. It provides $88,000 a year for nursing home care and up to $50,000 annually for adult day care for former players suffering from dementia-related problems.

“We’re all aware of the dangers of concussion, and we want to be in position to help,” Martin said. “It’s a big concern among today’s players, and it’s a very big concern among the retired players. It’s our mission to help those and other players suffering from a variety of problems, especially in today’s economy.”

Helping others is nothing new for Martin. In addition for his years-long work in assisting his fellow players, Martin walked across the United States a 3,003-mile trek from the George Washington Bridge to San Diego to raise more than $2 million for rescue and recovery workers assisting in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

He will approach his latest challenge with similar dedication. Good for Martin. Better for those who will benefit from his help.

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