Chris Kemoeatu suing Steelers over medical issue

Chris Kemoeatu suing Steelers over medical issue

By: Curt Popejoy



You never like to hear news like this. Former Pittsburgh Steelers guard Chris Kemoeatu has had to deal with some serious medical problems since he left the league. Kemoeatu was forced to retire from the sport early due to an ongoing kidney problem. In 2011, his health got so bad, that he was forced into retirement, and needed a kidney transplant.

His brother and fellow NFL player Ma’ake voluntarily left the NFL in 2014 to be his brother’s donor. The transplant was a success, and both are doing well, but as with any donor or recepient they will be on medication for the rest of their lives.

The bad news in this story is that Kemoeatu is now claiming that the numerous anti-inflammatory injections he received over the course of his career made his condition significantly worse. According to his attorney Michael Green, he is going to “sue everybody in sight who had anything to do with injecting this kid young man, knowing he was in danger to begin with”, and that includes the Steelers.

News like this is awful, and just shows the dark side of the NFL and how far players and teams will go to win. These guys put their bodies through things normal folks would never consider, and a story like this really illustrates just how bad things can get. There’s no doubt that Kemoeatu was away this could be a problem, but the pressure to play had to be tremendous, even in light of potential health problems.

http://steelerswire.usatoday.com/2016/01/22/chris-kemoeatu-suing-steelers-over-medical-issue/

probably one of those that will never make it to court, unless Kemoeatu really wants to make sure everybody knows about the health risks of playing in the NFL

These guys aren't slaves... they are being paid millions of dollars. No one is forcing them to do anything.

Good luck with that - he can argue he took the injections without being told of the consequences, but my bet is the docs and trainers have the equivalent of a Miranda card warning they give to the player for each med

The Pandora's box that Kemo may or may not want to open is being questioned under oath about what meds he was taking other than the injections and pills he received from Steelers doctors that the Steelers knew about.  Hard to see how the Steelers are on the hook for consequences of those other meds unless they facilitated and/or coerced Kemo into taking meds such as HGH and steroids, but it would be a bad PR look for the Steelers if they were said to have known

Kemo's "explosive temper" looked like roid rage to me.

Threat of lawsuit and non -public message to Steelers of Kemo threatening to "tell all" (true or otherwise) might be an angle for some sort of settlement

Seems kind of hokey to me. I mean I definitely sympathize with his health issues, my Aunt has had two different kidney transplants, and I recently tried to get tested for a little boy of a family friend that needed a donor kidney. So I definitely feel for Kemo, but suing the organization just seems a little ridiculous to me. I can't see them telling him no if he reached out and asked for a little help. I also feel like these guys get paid more than enough to be able to pay their medical bills. Normal people like me or you get buried up to our ears in medical debt in similar situations, and a pro athlete whose paid millions wants compensation?

I don't know. It'll be interesting to see how the lawsuit plays out.

This apparently is what Kemo's attorney is basing the lawsuit upon - the consent to the meds was not valid because Kemo was not told of his kidney condition that the Steelers allegedly knew about
and how that might impact the meds he was being given by Steelers docs and trainers

What Kemoeatu didn’t know, claims his attorney Michael Green, was that his kidney was a ticking time bomb -- and the Steelers knew it all along.

"He had a protein leak," Green said. "He had a kidney problem when he was younger and the team knew when they did the blood work that he had a protein leak from his kidney."...

"The team knew it, but never told him and they kept shooting him up until, 'you know what, you could die' ... really?" Green said....

Green is partnering with attorneys in Houston and will file the case in Maryland in the next 60 days.

http://www.todayspigskin.com/afc-today/pittsburgh-steelers/column-kemoeatus-lawsuit-steelers-highlights-bigger-problem-nfl/

Maryland?  - must be a good venue for plaintiffs with the hook being Kemo got shot up before a Ravens game  

DesertSteel wrote:

These guys aren't slaves... they are being paid millions of dollars. No one is forcing them to do anything.

Really? These players are subject to zero pressure from anybody? Please. If anything you take those injections and try to continue to play in order to earn more money.

I feel bad for NFL players that become seriously injured from playing football.
I feel bad for miners that are seriously injured from working in a mine.
I feel bad for policemen who are seriously injured from enforcing the law.
I feel bad for firemen that are seriously injured from fighting fires.
I feel bad for teachers that are seriously injured from school violence.
I feel bad for lumberjacks that are seriously injured from lumberjacking.

"This is the business we have chosen."

All jobs have risks and dangers...some obvious.....some hidden.
If you don't like the risks and dangers you face, change professions....if you can.
If you can't, you're stuck like many of us.  Being an NFL player doesn't give you a special privilege.
Don't immediately point the finger of blame at someone else when you were chasing big bucks and doing anything to improve your chances of getting the big bucks.

Kemo has his own obvious issues here, but NFL teams passing around powerful prescription drugs like M&Ms is a legitimate concern of the DEA

This from the 2014 season

Federal drug enforcement agents questioned medical-staff members from the San Francisco 49ers and several other teams on Sunday as part of a continuing investigation into the distribution of painkillers in the N.F.L. ...

A spokesman for the agency characterized the inquiries on Sunday as administrative in nature and said agents were looking to ensure that team doctors and other medical-staff employees were properly licensed to possess and distribute prescription medicine outside their home states. They also wanted to confirm that team trainers and other nonlicensed staff members were not handling prescription drugs.....

Lawsuits contending that N.F.L. doctors have mishandled prescription drugs date back at least to 2011. That year, a dozen former players accused the league and its teams of repeatedly administering the painkiller Toradol   before and during games, worsening high-risk injuries such as concussions.

The players also contend that the league and its teams failed to warn them of the consequences of taking the drug, a blood thinner that, according to the suit, “can prevent the feeling of injury” and therefore made it harder for players to recognize when they had concussions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/sports/football/dea-investigation-of-painkillers-targets-nfl-teams-medical-staffs.html

Threatening to file suit in Maryland is interesting - I do not think Kemo lives there - maybe Kemo also will be contending whoever was injecting him before the Ravens game(s) was not licensed to administer meds in Maryland

My bet is Ben's pregame drugs last Sunday included Toradol - given the value of Ben's contract, I also bet Ben and his agent were walked through the potential risks of taking that shot chapter and verse by someone associated with the Steelers

FrancoLambert wrote:

I feel bad for teachers that are seriously injured from school violence.


"This is the business we have chosen."

.

The fact that risk of school violence is part of the work hazard of a teacher is beyond appalling.

Stryker wrote:

DesertSteel wrote:

These guys aren't slaves... they are being paid millions of dollars. No one is forcing them to do anything.

Really? These players are subject to zero pressure from anybody? Please. If anything you take those injections and try to continue to play in order to earn more money.

You are making my point. They do it to cash in even bigger. It's their choice. You made my point, so what's YOUR point?

FrancoLambert wrote:

I feel bad for NFL players that become seriously injured from playing football.
I feel bad for miners that are seriously injured from working in a mine.
I feel bad for policemen who are seriously injured from enforcing the law.
I feel bad for firemen that are seriously injured from fighting fires.
I feel bad for teachers that are seriously injured from school violence.
I feel bad for lumberjacks that are seriously injured from lumberjacking.

"This is the business we have chosen."

All jobs have risks and dangers...some obvious.....some hidden.
If you don't like the risks and dangers you face, change professions....if you can.
If you can't, you're stuck like many of us.  Being an NFL player doesn't give you a special privilege.
Don't immediately point the finger of blame at someone else when you were chasing big bucks and doing anything to improve your chances of getting the big bucks.

Cops, teachers and firefighters don't play a child's game for millions of dollars. They put their life on the line and SHOULD be paid handsomely but aren't.

DesertSteel wrote:

Cops, teachers and firefighters don't play a child's game for millions of dollars. They put their life on the line and SHOULD be paid handsomely but aren't.

they should be paid more, so we could get better teachers. I don't know any police who are bad enough, but I've known some teachers who should be sent on a slow boat ride to anywhere else

harrison'samonster wrote:

DesertSteel wrote:

Cops, teachers and firefighters don't play a child's game for millions of dollars. They put their life on the line and SHOULD be paid handsomely but aren't.

they should be paid more, so we could get better teachers.  I don't know any police who are bad enough, but I've known some teachers who should be sent on a slow boat ride to anywhere else  

I know of one small town in Ackley, IA that was paying barely over $20,000 a year to full time police officers. That's barely enough to get by even in a small town. I make $60,000 a year at my job as a county detention officer going on 9 years at my office. Law enforcement pay is decent if you can get hired at a huge office or department, but some of the small to medium sized ones are wildly underpaid. Hell sometimes I feel underpaid for some of the things I get to deal with.

DesertSteel wrote:

FrancoLambert wrote:

I feel bad for NFL players that become seriously injured from playing football.
I feel bad for miners that are seriously injured from working in a mine.
I feel bad for policemen who are seriously injured from enforcing the law.
I feel bad for firemen that are seriously injured from fighting fires.
I feel bad for teachers that are seriously injured from school violence.
I feel bad for lumberjacks that are seriously injured from lumberjacking.

"This is the business we have chosen."

All jobs have risks and dangers...some obvious.....some hidden.
If you don't like the risks and dangers you face, change professions....if you can.
If you can't, you're stuck like many of us.  Being an NFL player doesn't give you a special privilege.
Don't immediately point the finger of blame at someone else when you were chasing big bucks and doing anything to improve your chances of getting the big bucks.

Cops, teachers and firefighters don't play a child's game for millions of dollars. They put their life on the line and SHOULD be paid handsomely but aren't.

Again....I don't get why Teachers should be "putting their life on the line". They fucking teach kids and get their summers off. They are not paid to overthrow fascist regimes.

Remember Mr. Kotter? Should not have been wearing a flak jacket.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

harrison'samonster wrote:

DesertSteel wrote:

Cops, teachers and firefighters don't play a child's game for millions of dollars. They put their life on the line and SHOULD be paid handsomely but aren't.

they should be paid more, so we could get better teachers.  I don't know any police who are bad enough, but I've known some teachers who should be sent on a slow boat ride to anywhere else  

I know of one small town in Ackley, IA that was paying barely over $20,000 a year to full time police officers. That's barely enough to get by even in a small town. I make $60,000 a year at my job as a county detention officer going on 9 years at my office. Law enforcement pay is decent if you can get hired at a huge office or department, but some of the small to medium sized ones are wildly underpaid. Hell sometimes I feel underpaid for some of the things I get to deal with.

that is insane. Tell's you something, I'm not sure what though, about where our values are. I mean, I realize the NFL players get paid a lot because they are the best at what they do, but good teachers and police and public servants are not rewarded nearly well enough by us.

DesertSteel wrote:

These guys aren't slaves... they are being paid millions of dollars. No one is forcing them to do anything.

Most NFL players are not payed millions of dollars.

rellimie wrote:

DesertSteel wrote:

These guys aren't slaves... they are being paid millions of dollars. No one is forcing them to do anything.

Most NFL players are not payed millions of dollars.

OK.....let's agree on "hundreds of thousands" then.  

Despite the known risks, there is no shortage of college football players who dream and work to make it to the NFL.

They know the risks....they know the rewards....they choose the business.  No finger pointing allowed when a risk surfaces.

FrancoLambert wrote:

rellimie wrote:

DesertSteel wrote:

These guys aren't slaves... they are being paid millions of dollars. No one is forcing them to do anything.

Most NFL players are not payed millions of dollars.

OK.....let's agree on "hundreds of thousands" then.  

Despite the known risks, there is no shortage of college football players who dream and work to make it to the NFL.

They know the risks....they know the rewards....they choose the business.  No finger pointing allowed when a risk surfaces.

as long as that statement is in their contract

honestly, I'm sympathetic to the players because I don't think the teams and the league had been very honest about the health risks until the past 5 years or so, and still don't believe they are completely honest.

And I can understand why this thread has turned towards talking about the high amount of money they make. But when we really think about it, the players make little compared to the league and the teams, and it's only their health that suffers down the road.