Goodell meets with former players
NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and chief assistant Troy Vincent were told by 11 former players that the league must act immediately when someone is accused of domestic violence.
At a 3 1/2-hour meeting to discuss ways to improve the league’s personal conduct policy, the former players also said teams must be held accountable when players misbehave.
At the meeting were Hall of Famer Mike Singletary, plus Matt Birk, Eddie Mason, Patrick Kerney, Willie McGinest, Roman Oben, Marty Lyons, Charles Way, Tony Paige, Scott Turner and Robert Porcher. More weekly meetings are planned among league officials and former players, current players and team owners.
Oliver’s family sues NFL, 2 teams
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The wife and sons of former San Diego Chargers defensive back Paul Oliver sued the NFL for wrongful death, blaming sports-related concussions for his suicide last year.
The suit was filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the league, the Chargers, the New Orleans Saints and the corporations that own several helmet manufacturers. It also alleges fraud and negligence.
It says that Oliver, 29, shot himself to death in front of his wife, Chelsea, and two sons last September at his home in Marietta, Georgia, about 20 miles northwest of Atlanta. The suit alleges that his death was a “direct result of the injuries, depression and emotional suffering caused by repetitive head trauma and concussions suffered as a result of playing football, not properly appreciating football’s risks with respect to head trauma” and using defective helmets.
Bironas wild on road, witnesses say
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A college student told a 911 dispatcher that a man he later identified as Rob Bironas chased him and his friends, then tried to hit their pickup truck minutes before the former Titans kicker’s fatal crash.
Metro Nashville Police Department released copies of two 911 calls. One call was made by Bironas’ wife reporting him missing at 11:40 p.m. on Sept. 20. The second was from Belmont University student Connor Fraley at 10:45 p.m. while being chased by Bironas, who was driving a white SUV.
Solo asserts innocence in Facebook post
(AP) — U.S. national team goalkeeper Hope Solo is again asserting her innocence in a domestic violence assault case that she faces in Washington state.
Solo posted a statement to on her official Facebook page on Tuesday evening. She says “once all the facts come to light and the legal process is concluded, I am confident that I will be fully exonerated.”
Solo is charged with two misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault stemming from a June 21 altercation with her sister and 17-year-old nephew at a family gathering in Kirkland, Washington.
She has pleaded not guilty and the case is scheduled for trial on Nov. 4.
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