Jahvid Best Suing NFL, Helmet Manufacturer Riddell Over Concussions
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
DETROIT (CBS DETROIT) - In addition to the worker's compensation claim he previously filed against the Detroit Lions, former Lions running back Jahvid Best is now going after the NFL and helmet manufacturer Riddell.
Best sustained two concussions in college and three more in the NFL, the most recent in 2011. The Lions kept Best on board until last July, finally cutting him after no doctors would clear Best to play.
In his rookie season with Detroit, Best played in every game and racked up 555 yards and four touchdowns on 171 carries. The following year, 2011, he rushed for 390 yards and two touchdowns in six games before being sidelined by his final concussion.
The suit Best has filed against the NFL alleges the league endangered him and other players by denying or downplaying the risk of mild traumatic brain injury as a result of concussions sustained playing football.
One part of the lawsuit reads, "The NFL caused or contributed to the injuries and increased risks to Plaintiff through its acts and omissions by, among other things: (a) historically ignoring the true risks of MTBI in NFL football; (b) failing to disclose the true risks of repetitive MTBI to NFL players; and (c) since 1994, deliberately spreading misinformation concerning the cause and effect relationship between MTBI in NFL football and latent neurodegenerative disorders and diseases."
Calls to Best's attorney, Bret Schnitzer, and to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello were not immediately returned.