Mark Gastineau was crying on radio station.

[Patriot Killa]

Hearing That Mark Gastineau Was Crying On A Radio Show Makes Me Sad

Growing up as a Jets fan, Mark Gastineau was the 1st player I became a fan of. He was a a sack machine and he would give you a sack dance. 

(There would be a great video of a Sack Dance here but the NFL loves taking everything off YouTube. What a joke of a league, but i'll talk about that another time)

 

Today, I had to hear him cry on a radio show with his wife and lawyer that he isn't getting his medical needs met by the NFL and it was just sad. This one time Monster has become a shell of himself. 

 

Unfortunately for Gastineau, he would have a lot of off the field issues, including domestic abuse, drinking, drugs, crossing the picket line and Bridgette Nielsen. All these issues contributed to a shortened playing career and not living up to what should have been a Hall of Fame career. 

 

I actually met Mark when he was living in Brooklyn and dating my neighbor He was a monster, looked like a super hero. He also looked broke and out of his element in Brooklyn. That being said, he was great to me personally. Signed autographs, came by my HS job and talked to me like any friend. (That relationship didn't last too long as they were both beating up each other)

Mark battled his demons, started taking up boxing.

Didn't fare to well with that. He finally cleaned himself off the last 10 years, found Jesus and kept himself clean. The years of football, drug and alcohol abuse tough would catch up to him as he announced he had Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.  

He stays in bed all day and his wife has to help him do everything. Would you let your kids play football hearing this? All the money in the world not worth it. If I did play and lived a great life for 5-10 years kill me right after if this would happen. I'm guessing Mark won't make it past 5 more years. It will be a sad day in my childhood when that day comes though hearing this man cry might've already killed that boy already.

Hey NFL, help your alumni maybe get good medical care. 

https://www.stuckindamiddle.com/single-post/2018/03/09/Hearing-That-Mark-Gastineau-Was-Crying-On-A-Radio-Show-Makes-Me-Sad

[Joe W. Namath]

Sad.  He was great in the 80s.  Sucks to hear.  God bless Mark.

[Grandy]

A Jet Great, and an All Time Great. Prayers for him.

[CTM]

the nfl doesn't take care of their vets.  One of the reasons I support as little as possible

[Patriot Killa]

I find it disgusting that the NFL uses these guys for entertainment(I also take into consideration the millions of dollars they make, so spare me.) and then throws them away like trash. 

I also understand that it is on them whether or not they play and risk health. But to not even give the older guys the proper treatment after all those years though? I mean, that’s just unacceptable to me. It’s like they are saying because he isn’t a current player or marketable anymore that “oh well, Mark, you are on your own bud. Take that money and try to do what you can for yourself.”

Gastineau is in my thoughts and prayers and I hope he find relief in some form. He had his demons as the article states and he conquered them later down the road. God bless him.

[nyjunc]

7 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

I find it disgusting that the NFL uses these guys for entertainment(I also take into consideration the millions of dollars they make, so spare me.) and then throws them away like trash. 

I also understand that it is on them whether or not they play and risk health. But to not even give the older guys the proper treatment after all those years though? I mean, that’s just unacceptable to me. It’s like they are saying because he isn’t a current player or marketable anymore that “oh well, Mark, you are on your own bud. Take that money and try to do what you can for yourself.”

Gastineau is in my thoughts and prayers and I hope he find relief in some form. He had his demons as the article states and he conquered them later down the road. God bless him.

how do we know the NFL is doing anything? b/c Mark says so?  The NFL didn't make Mark inject steroids into his body all those years as far as I know and while there are many mark's not doing well there are just as many that are doing well.

The NFL absolutely should provide health care for all retired players(assuming they played a minimum of years) and I think they are doing that now but players share responsibility.  They put poison in their bodies especially in that era and they knew what they signed up for.  Maybe they didn't know about CTE but they knew they were putting their bodies and lives at risk playing this game at that level. I feel bad but it's not all on the league.

[KINGDIRK]

Absolutely atrocious

Guys like Gastineau are the reason the NFL is what it is today. Those guys help lay the foundation for what the NFL has become. How the billion dollar industry that is the NFL can't get these guys legit healthcare is a crime. 

Goodell will end up making several hundred millions of dollars off the NFL but guys like Mark can't get legit health care from the NFL.  Don't even get me started with the NFL coverup regarding head injuries. 

 

[Warfish]

A few things:

1. The NFL SHOULD take care, for life, of the medical needs of it's players.  Full stop.

2. With that said, someone who makes multiple millions of dollars and pisses it all away the way many NFL players do on the dumbest sh*t, then complains about their lives and how poorly they're treated.....not much sympathy for them, tbqh.

3. People who took illegal drugs for an on-field advantage over clean players should suffer for that decision, they're cheaters.  

4. This is primarily a PLAYERS UNION failing.  The League is management, they do not give away anything, nor should they.  The job of representing players and their interests is the Unions.  They have abjectly failed older players, and constantly prefer to get more cash for current players to the detriment of everything else.  Including health care for older players. 

Lesson for you kids, save your money.  Tomorrow is a thing.  And the next generation will take cash for them over meds for you every time.

 

[TuscanyTile2]

Regarding taking illegal drugs, I think it's a more complicated issue than "the players knew they were cheating but did it anyway.  Now they have to deal with the consequences".    If the league doesn't do a good job preventing players from doing drugs then a "clean" player is at a disadvantage.  How many players would've preferred the sport be clean because then they could've made it (or had greater success) without having to do drugs.  I mean, I don't know even the rough answer to that question but it's certainly something to be considered.  In baseball I know Barry Bonds got a lot of flak but I think the owners and commissioners (in addition to the players union) also knew what was going on and they liked the increased revenue because it meant bigger paydays.  

[SAR I]

Mark Gastineau left the Jets to pursue a career in boxing which lasted 5 years.   Watch this for five minutes, you'll understand why he has dementia.

SAR I

[bitonti]

2 hours ago, Warfish said:

A few things:

1. The NFL SHOULD take care, for life, of the medical needs of it's players.  Full stop.

4. This is primarily a PLAYERS UNION failing.  The League is management, they do not give away anything, nor should they. 

1

It sounds like you said they SHOULD give away free health care and then you like had a stroke 

[joewilly12]

Why aren't the NY Jets helping Mark? 

Mark Gastineau Asks Roger Goodell to Help Former NFL Players

MIKE CHIARIMARCH 9, 2018

 

Al Bello/Getty Images

Former New York Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau broke down in tears during a radio interview Thursday regarding the issue of the NFL helping former players who are battling health issues.

Appearing on WOR radio with host Pete McCarthy (h/t ESPN.com's Rich Cimini), Gastineau called for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to step up: "I want the NFL to treat people right. I want to hold you to your promise, Roger Goodell. You said, 'Anything I need!' ... I want the players to be treated right."

Per Cimini, Gastineau said last year that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and believes they are the result of injuries suffered during his time in the NFL.

The 61-year-old Gastineau also mentioned having a relationship with Goodell dating back to Goodell's time as a public relations intern with the Jets and made mention of a conversation they had last year: "The commissioner told me, he said, 'Listen, Mark, you know what? You need anything, let me know.' He was my ball boy. I treated him great. He told me. Hey, Roger Goodell, treat people right."

Gastineau added that he is part of a concussion lawsuit against the NFL.

He also spoke about his daily struggles and the strain it puts on his wife:

"My wife, she and I used to go around and do yard work. But you know what? She does everything now for me.

"It's not good, it's not good. When I'm laying in bed until three, four, or five [in the afternoon], it's not good. There will be days I get up and I'm good. ... My wife will tell you, she helps me get out of bed...and she'll help me remember names."

Gastineau spent 10 seasons in the NFL from 1979 through 1988 after the Jets selected him in the second round of the 1979 NFL draft.

He finished his career with 74.0 sacks, five Pro Bowl selections and three nods as a First-Team All-Pro.

Gastineau set an NFL record with 22.0 sacks in 1984, a mark that was broken by New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan in 2001.

After his football career, Gastineau went 15-2 with one no-contest in 18 professional boxing fights.

[Patriot Killa]

18 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

Why aren't the NY Jets helping Mark? 

Mark Gastineau Asks Roger Goodell to Help Former NFL Players

MIKE CHIARIMARCH 9, 2018

 

Al Bello/Getty Images

Former New York Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau broke down in tears during a radio interview Thursday regarding the issue of the NFL helping former players who are battling health issues.

Appearing on WOR radio with host Pete McCarthy (h/t ESPN.com's Rich Cimini), Gastineau called for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to step up: "I want the NFL to treat people right. I want to hold you to your promise, Roger Goodell. You said, 'Anything I need!' ... I want the players to be treated right."

Per Cimini, Gastineau said last year that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease and believes they are the result of injuries suffered during his time in the NFL.

The 61-year-old Gastineau also mentioned having a relationship with Goodell dating back to Goodell's time as a public relations intern with the Jets and made mention of a conversation they had last year: "The commissioner told me, he said, 'Listen, Mark, you know what? You need anything, let me know.' He was my ball boy. I treated him great. He told me. Hey, Roger Goodell, treat people right."

Gastineau added that he is part of a concussion lawsuit against the NFL.

He also spoke about his daily struggles and the strain it puts on his wife:

"My wife, she and I used to go around and do yard work. But you know what? She does everything now for me.

"It's not good, it's not good. When I'm laying in bed until three, four, or five [in the afternoon], it's not good. There will be days I get up and I'm good. ... My wife will tell you, she helps me get out of bed...and she'll help me remember names."

Gastineau spent 10 seasons in the NFL from 1979 through 1988 after the Jets selected him in the second round of the 1979 NFL draft.

He finished his career with 74.0 sacks, five Pro Bowl selections and three nods as a First-Team All-Pro.

Gastineau set an NFL record with 22.0 sacks in 1984, a mark that was broken by New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan in 2001.

After his football career, Gastineau went 15-2 with one no-contest in 18 professional boxing fights.

Man, this is so sad...

I really feel for the guy. They need to get him his proper help.

[Warfish]

55 minutes ago, bitonti said:

It sounds like you said they SHOULD give away free health care and then you like had a stroke 

Should is a moral position.

The Union being at fault is a factual/objective position.

It's not rocket science Bit.  Spare me the "oh the poor players" tears, if you please.

[Larz]

The NFL tried to settle the lawsuit and then lawyers happened 

https://deadspin.com/the-billion-dollar-nfl-concussion-settlement-is-a-new-k-1793787616

[Patriot Killa]

I say instead of funding billboards and banners, we should start a fund raiser to help him out.

[Alka]

I remember after one game when Gastineau got like 3 or 5 sacks, and they interviewed the Offensive Lineman that he beat, and I watched as the guy actually cried.  Gastineau made the guy look like a beginner.  Gastineau had amazing upper body strength with tremendous quickness.  On the negative side, he did his sack dance even after the Jets were losing by 4 touchdowns.  IMO he was not a great player, but a great "pass rusher".

I am truly sorry that he is having these problems.  I wish him only the best.

[LionelRichie]

5 hours ago, KINGDIRK said:

Absolutely atrocious

Guys like Gastineau are the reason the NFL is what it is today. Those guys help lay the foundation for what the NFL has become. How the billion dollar industry that is the NFL can't get these guys legit healthcare is a crime. 

Goodell will end up making several hundred millions of dollars off the NFL but guys like Mark can't get legit health care from the NFL.  Don't even get me started with the NFL coverup regarding head injuries. 

 

Pretty sure Gastineau is getting like 500k per year as an NFL Pension.   

When you say he should be ‘taken care of’ how much more than 500k annually do you think is fair?

[Thai Jet]

Very sad indeed. He was such a great Jet in the day. Loved to watch him play.

[Thai Jet]

1 hour ago, LionelRichie said:

Pretty sure Gastineau is getting like 500k per year as an NFL Pension.   

When you say he should be ‘taken care of’ how much more than 500k annually do you think is fair?

Wish we could verify that $$ figure. Seems like a lot for someone who played back then.

[jgb]

7 hours ago, SAR I said:

Mark Gastineau left the Jets to pursue a career in boxing which lasted 5 years.   Watch this for five minutes, you'll understand why he has dementia.

SAR I

Gastineau's opponent in the fight was offered cash by his manager to take a dive but refused. The manager also repped Gastineau and was trying to get him to 12-0 so he could fight (and get creamed by no doubt) George Foreman. He ended up murdering his manager afterward. He claimed self defense. He's now in prison for life. Crazy.

[bitonti]

15 hours ago, Warfish said:

Should is a moral position.

The Union being at fault is a factual/objective position. 

 

it's not a factual statement to say the players union failed the players. They were faced with lockouts during each of these negotiations. 

David was crushed by Goliath. That's how it actually goes. 

Life is not like the movies where the loveable loser wins just because they want it hard enough. That's why schlubs like us go to movies. 

Capital crushed Labor and if you want to say it's labor's fault for being weak, well then I guess we are going to agree to disagree.

There is a difference by the way. Labor never becomes Capital. Tom Brady is never going to buy a football team.  

[Warfish]

1 hour ago, bitonti said:

it's not a factual statement to say the players union failed the players.

Yes, it is.

They could have prioritized healthcare.  They didn't.  They choose to prioritize strait cash (Hommie) for current players exclusively.

There are not debatable issues Bit.  I'm mean lets at least try and be serious here.

Quote

They were faced with lockouts during each of these negotiations.

I.e. It was a negotiation, like very Union vs. Management disagreement.  Yes Bit, we all know. 

Doesn't change the issue here of what the Union prioritized.

Quote

David was crushed by Goliath. That's how it actually goes.

Funny, current players making more than ever before sure don't look "crushed".

But those old Vets who were forgotten by their own Union.....they look crushed, or as crushed as one can be on a 6-figure annual pension.

Quote

Life is not like the movies where the loveable loser wins just because they want it hard enough. That's why schlubs like us go to movies.

No Bit, it's not.  That's why we have Unions, to collectively bargain for weak individual units.  You're either being consciously obtuse here, or just outright ignorant of how these things work.  It's a give and take, and the Union refused to give so the retired players could take more.

Quote

Capital crushed Labor and if you want to say it's labor's fault for being weak, well then I guess we are going to agree to disagree.

Yes Bernie, wargarbl CAPITAL IS EVIL!!!   

I guess we're going to agree to disagree because your excuse making and empty Sander'esque rhetoric is just dumb.  No other way to describe it really.

It's not labour's fault for being "weak", it's labors fault for prioritizing current player salary increases over former player healthcare Bit.  Seriously, not rocket science.  The UNION represent the players and ex-players Bit.  Only the Union.

Quote

There is a difference by the way. Labor never becomes Capital. Tom Brady is never going to buy a football team.  

Funny, last I looked Michael Jordan partially owns the Charlotte Bobcats. 

Lebron James is a partial owner of Liverpool FC.

Shaq owns a piece of the Sacramento Kings.

Wayne Gretzky was a part owner of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Serena Williams owns a piece of the Miami Dolphins.

Magic Johnson owns a piece of the Dodgers.

Nolan Ryan owned a piece of the Texas Rangers.

Tiger could just about buy the PGA outright at his peak if he wanted.  The whole thing Bit, not just a piece.

Joe Gibbs owned a NASCAR team.  Not a cheap endeavor either.

Tom Brady and his wife could easily retire and buy a material stake in any available NFL team if they wanted.  They could outright buy an MLB team or NHL team.

Derick Jeter part-owns (and runs) the Miami Marlins.

This is just ownership, management includes coaches and the front office, and there is an endless list of ex-players in that part of management.

Bit just stop.  It's obvious you have no f'ing idea what you're talking about beyond what you may have once heard on CNN ffs.  

[bitonti]

1 minute ago, Warfish said:

Funny, last I looked Michael Jordan partially owns the Charlotte Bobcats. 

Lebron James is a partial owner of Liverpool FC.

Shaq owns a piece of the Sacramento Kings.

Wayne Gretzky was a part owner of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Serena Williams owns a piece of the Miami Dolphins.

Magic Johnson owns a piece of the Dodgers.

Nolan Ryan owned a piece of the Texas Rangers.

Tiger could just about buy the PGA outright at his peak if he wanted.  The whole thing Bit, not just a piece.

Joe Gibbs owned a NASCAR team.  Not a cheap endeavor either.

Tom Brady and his wife could easily retire and buy a material stake in any available NFL team if they wanted.  They could outright buy an MLB team or NHL team.

Derick Jeter part-owns (and runs) the Miami Marlins.

This is just ownership, management includes coaches and the front office, and there is an endless list of ex-players in that part of management.

Bit just stop.  It's obvious you have no f'ing idea what you're talking about beyond what you may have once heard on CNN ffs.  

2

im talking about the real owners. the 31 billionaires and the people of green bay Wisconsin.  The amount of wealth to own a team is way more than the buying price btw.  no one on that list has the ability or resources to own a controlling interest in any NFL team.   

it's also not about just having enough money. They have to be approved. 

Warfish I don't know how you ended up on Woody Johnson's side of this but trust me you aren't on his guest list. 

 

now let's all have fun rooting for a team that's got 90 million dollars in cap space and no meaningful prospects on where to spend it. 

[SAR I]

9 hours ago, jgb said:

Gastineau's opponent in the fight was offered cash by his manager to take a dive but refused. The manager also repped Gastineau and was trying to get him to 12-0 so he could fight (and get creamed by no doubt) George Foreman. He ended up murdering his manager afterward. He claimed self defense. He's now in prison for life. Crazy.

Holy crap, just read a story about this.  Thanks for bringing it to my attention.  Wow.

SAR I

[Warfish]

9 minutes ago, bitonti said:

im talking about the real owners. the 31 billionaires and the people of green bay Wisconsin.  The amount of wealth to own a team is way more than the buying price btw.  no one on that list has the ability or resources to own a controlling interest in any NFL team.   

it's also not about just having enough money. They have to be approved. 

Warfish I don't know how you ended up on Woody Johnson's side of this but trust me you aren't on his guest list. 

 

now let's all have fun rooting for a team that's got 90 million dollars in cap space and no meaningful prospects on where to spend it. 

Clueless empty Angry Benrie'esque rhetoric yet again.  Devoid of content or fact, heavy on working class hero hurf-a-blurf bullsh*t.

You just can't understand that the Union picked money for today's players over healthcare for it's ex-players.  So you deflect and try to blame the side who has no responsibility for the players at all.  They're contractors.  They're paid per the contract, a contract the UNION negotiates on the players behalf.

By the way, Bit, you were never on multi-millionaire Mark Gastineau's guest list either.  He never cared about you, or that you existed, or that you used to worship him, any more than Woody does or did.  Bitching because one of the dumbest and most wasteful multi-millionaires in Jets history can't get by off a half-million dollar annual pension because boo hoo, mean owners?  Give me a break.  

So stop licking his cleats, he's not going to come to your 11th birthday party like you always dreamed.

[chirorob]

13 minutes ago, SAR I said:

Holy crap, just read a story about this.  Thanks for bringing it to my attention.  Wow.

SAR I

Doc Anderson Tells It Like It Is: Verse by Verse

By Robert Mladinich on January 3, 2012

Anderson steadfastly maintains that Parker insisted he take a dive against Mark Gastineau

 

Anderson refused the offer and beat the stuffing out of Gastineau in a fight that referee Marty Sammon described as “Man Against Boy…”

Former journeyman heavyweight Tim “Doc” Anderson admits that he is a killer, but won’t admit to being a murderer. However he still finds himself serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for shooting to death his former manager Rick “Elvis” Parker in an Orlando, Florida, hotel room in May 1996.

Anderson, who once played pro baseball in the Chicago Cubs organization, never denied shooting the behemoth Parker multiple times in a case that was chronicled in British author Jon Hotten’s controversial book “The Years of the Locust.” But the reasons behind the killing have raised many questions as to whether the immensely likeable Anderson deserved such a severe sentence.

He steadfastly maintains that Parker, who had a hard-earned and well-deserved reputation for being corrupt, disreputable and morally bankrupt, insisted he take a dive in a June 1992 fight against former football legend Mark Gastineau. If Parker, who managed both Anderson and Gastineau, could get the lumbering onetime gridiron star to 12-0 he was reportedly promised a multi-million dollar purse against George Foreman.

Anderson refused the offer and beat the stuffing out of Gastineau in a fight that referee Marty Sammon described as “Man Against Boy.” At the end of the nationally televised bout, Parker’s nostrils were flaring.

Anderson left Parker immediately after the bout, but was lured back six months later for a rematch in Oklahoma City, where there was no state commission. Although infinitesimally more talented than Gastineau as a fighter, Anderson, who had been forced to wait in the ring for 45 minutes until Gastineau’s arrival, believes he was given tainted water by his corner men. 

Saying he was light-headed, nauseous and hallucinating, he was brutally stopped in the sixth round. Hours later, after everyone had left the arena, a janitor found him lying in a pool of his own vomit on the locker room floor.

Anderson is certain that his corner men poisoned him on the orders of Parker. For several years, the once vibrant, youthful and perpetually health-conscious Anderson could barely get out of bed. When he threatened to take Parker to task for his alleged crimes, men wielding baseball bats attacked him. He also claimed that Parker regularly threatened to kill Anderson’s beloved quadriplegic sister, Erin, and her two daughters if he went to the authorities or took civil action.

Determined to make one last attempt to get Parker to admit what drugs he used to poison him so he could get much-needed treatment, Anderson set up a meeting with Parker in an Orlando hotel room. Anderson’s best friend, a rock solid citizen named Jim Murphy, had insisted he go armed because Parker was known to always be strapped with a Glock. Anderson also went to the fateful meeting with Parker’s sister, Diane McVey, and Parker’s son, which discounts any notion of premeditation. 

After failing to get Parker to admit what he needed to hear, Anderson claimed that he lost it when Parker snarled at him, “For that stunt you just pulled, your sister Erin is dead.”

The next thing Anderson recalls is rolling Parker over and counting eight bullets in his rotund body. He then sat on the bed and said, “Forgive me Lord,” as he tried to take his own life but the gun jammed. He then went to the front desk, told the clerk what happened, and calmly waited for the police to arrive. Describing himself as “a very sick man” at the time, he urged the detectives to forsake the questioning and take him directly to the electric chair.

After the well-publicized trial, several jurors wrote to the judge and said they had hoped he would show leniency toward the sympathetic Anderson. Had they known Anderson would be subject to such a heavy mandatory sentence, they would have found a way to give him a break. Two jurors, including the foreman, said they felt “blindsided” and “misled” to learn the judge had no discretion in the sentencing. 

The now 54-year-old Anderson, who had fought the likes of George Foreman, Larry Holmes and Jimmy Young in compiling a 27-16-1 (13 KOS) record, has been in prison ever since.

He is still as likeable and laconic as always, and recently put his thoughts on paper in the form of the following poem. In it he attacks his corner men, as well as Parker, and asserts that the referee in the second fight, Houston Perkins, was nowhere near the ring that night. When all the facts are assessed, a compelling case can be made that Anderson has served more than enough time for what many consider nothing more than a misdemeanor homicide.

[Patriot Killa]

6 hours ago, Warfish said:

Funny, last I looked Michael Jordan partially owns the Charlotte Bobcats. 

 

Hornets.

[jgb]

13 hours ago, bitonti said:

Tom Brady is never going to buy a football team.  

But Gisselle might

[roscoeword]

12 hours ago, chirorob said:

Doc Anderson Tells It Like It Is: Verse by Verse

By Robert Mladinich on January 3, 2012

Anderson steadfastly maintains that Parker insisted he take a dive against Mark Gastineau

 

Anderson refused the offer and beat the stuffing out of Gastineau in a fight that referee Marty Sammon described as “Man Against Boy…”

Former journeyman heavyweight Tim “Doc” Anderson admits that he is a killer, but won’t admit to being a murderer. However he still finds himself serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for shooting to death his former manager Rick “Elvis” Parker in an Orlando, Florida, hotel room in May 1996.

Anderson, who once played pro baseball in the Chicago Cubs organization, never denied shooting the behemoth Parker multiple times in a case that was chronicled in British author Jon Hotten’s controversial book “The Years of the Locust.” But the reasons behind the killing have raised many questions as to whether the immensely likeable Anderson deserved such a severe sentence.

He steadfastly maintains that Parker, who had a hard-earned and well-deserved reputation for being corrupt, disreputable and morally bankrupt, insisted he take a dive in a June 1992 fight against former football legend Mark Gastineau. If Parker, who managed both Anderson and Gastineau, could get the lumbering onetime gridiron star to 12-0 he was reportedly promised a multi-million dollar purse against George Foreman.

Anderson refused the offer and beat the stuffing out of Gastineau in a fight that referee Marty Sammon described as “Man Against Boy.” At the end of the nationally televised bout, Parker’s nostrils were flaring.

Anderson left Parker immediately after the bout, but was lured back six months later for a rematch in Oklahoma City, where there was no state commission. Although infinitesimally more talented than Gastineau as a fighter, Anderson, who had been forced to wait in the ring for 45 minutes until Gastineau’s arrival, believes he was given tainted water by his corner men. 

Saying he was light-headed, nauseous and hallucinating, he was brutally stopped in the sixth round. Hours later, after everyone had left the arena, a janitor found him lying in a pool of his own vomit on the locker room floor.

Anderson is certain that his corner men poisoned him on the orders of Parker. For several years, the once vibrant, youthful and perpetually health-conscious Anderson could barely get out of bed. When he threatened to take Parker to task for his alleged crimes, men wielding baseball bats attacked him. He also claimed that Parker regularly threatened to kill Anderson’s beloved quadriplegic sister, Erin, and her two daughters if he went to the authorities or took civil action.

Determined to make one last attempt to get Parker to admit what drugs he used to poison him so he could get much-needed treatment, Anderson set up a meeting with Parker in an Orlando hotel room. Anderson’s best friend, a rock solid citizen named Jim Murphy, had insisted he go armed because Parker was known to always be strapped with a Glock. Anderson also went to the fateful meeting with Parker’s sister, Diane McVey, and Parker’s son, which discounts any notion of premeditation. 

After failing to get Parker to admit what he needed to hear, Anderson claimed that he lost it when Parker snarled at him, “For that stunt you just pulled, your sister Erin is dead.”

The next thing Anderson recalls is rolling Parker over and counting eight bullets in his rotund body. He then sat on the bed and said, “Forgive me Lord,” as he tried to take his own life but the gun jammed. He then went to the front desk, told the clerk what happened, and calmly waited for the police to arrive. Describing himself as “a very sick man” at the time, he urged the detectives to forsake the questioning and take him directly to the electric chair.

After the well-publicized trial, several jurors wrote to the judge and said they had hoped he would show leniency toward the sympathetic Anderson. Had they known Anderson would be subject to such a heavy mandatory sentence, they would have found a way to give him a break. Two jurors, including the foreman, said they felt “blindsided” and “misled” to learn the judge had no discretion in the sentencing. 

The now 54-year-old Anderson, who had fought the likes of George Foreman, Larry Holmes and Jimmy Young in compiling a 27-16-1 (13 KOS) record, has been in prison ever since.

He is still as likeable and laconic as always, and recently put his thoughts on paper in the form of the following poem. In it he attacks his corner men, as well as Parker, and asserts that the referee in the second fight, Houston Perkins, was nowhere near the ring that night. When all the facts are assessed, a compelling case can be made that Anderson has served more than enough time for what many consider nothing more than a misdemeanor homicide.

Unreal. Like the movie "The harder they fall", but I thought all that corruption was over with in the 90's.  guess not.

[bitonti]

21 hours ago, Warfish said:

Clueless empty Angry Benrie'esque rhetoric yet again.  Devoid of content or fact, heavy on working class hero hurf-a-blurf bullsh*t.

You just can't understand that the Union picked money for today's players over healthcare for it's ex-players.  So you deflect and try to blame the side who has no responsibility for the players at all.  They're contractors.  They're paid per the contract, a contract the UNION negotiates on the players behalf.

By the way, Bit, you were never on multi-millionaire Mark Gastineau's guest list either.  He never cared about you, or that you existed, or that you used to worship him, any more than Woody does or did.  Bitching because one of the dumbest and most wasteful multi-millionaires in Jets history can't get by off a half-million dollar annual pension because boo hoo, mean owners?  Give me a break.  

So stop licking his cleats, he's not going to come to your 11th birthday party like you always dreamed.

here's a fact the Jets pro store sells Mark Gastineau t shirts for 32 dollars plus shipping 

http://www.nflshop.com/New_York_Jets_Gear/Mens_New_York_Jets_Mark_Gastineau_Pro_Line_by_Fanatics_Branded_Kelly_Green_Authentic_Stack_Retired_Player_Player_Name_And_Number_T-Shirt

you are right by the way know me very well. Did I buy one? Of course I did. Not even waiting for it to go on sale 

for the record I did not want Mark at my birthday party. He would have peed on all the presents. 

But it got me to thinking how much of that money do you think Mark Gastineau is seeing? follow up how much is his morally entitled to see? It's 2018 the team is selling t shirts with his name on it for 32 dollars. He deserves probably more than 0. 

You are right the owners have no responsibility to the players.

The scorpion has no responsibility to the frog, except that he's both their ride across the river.

 

[Scott Dierking]

8 minutes ago, bitonti said:

here's a fact the Jets pro store sells Mark Gastineau t shirts for 32 dollars plus shipping 

http://www.nflshop.com/New_York_Jets_Gear/Mens_New_York_Jets_Mark_Gastineau_Pro_Line_by_Fanatics_Branded_Kelly_Green_Authentic_Stack_Retired_Player_Player_Name_And_Number_T-Shirt

you are right by the way know me very well. Did I buy one? Of course I did. Not even waiting for it to go on sale 

for the record I did not want Mark at my birthday party. He would have peed on all the presents. 

But it got me to thinking how much of that money do you think Mark Gastineau is seeing? follow up how much is his morally entitled to see? It's 2018 the team is selling t shirts with his name on it for 32 dollars. He deserves probably more than 0. 

You are right the owners have no responsibility to the players.

The scorpion has no responsibility to the frog, except that he's both their ride across the river.

 

Maybe some of Mark Gastineau's teammates will come to his aid.

Oh, wait a minute, they all hated him. They hated him because he was a 'me first" player, that put the team and its success second to his own glory.

Sometimes, we reap what we sow. I wish him good health.

He was like the giraffe and the butterfly.

[Miss Lonelyhearts]

The whole it’s a negotiation angle would carry a lot more weight if Upshaw hadn’t been corrupt and retarded.

[Bugg]

Preface this that I wish him well and don't like to see anyone suffer. For a brief time after he washed out of football, Gastineau hung around a gym in Brooklyn. Was a pleasant enough guy, and at that point, remarkably approachable, humbled even . But was obvious he was using all manner of substances. This was and still is not a secret.He doesn't deny it . While the NFL and football did him no favors, like Lyle Alzado and many others, a man has to own up to the things he did. And it was apparent to anyone that met him Gastineau made many poor decisions in his life for which he is now paying. Playing in the NFL obviously impacted him, but that's hardly the only reason for his predicament. And if he wants help, the NFLPA and the NFL should have a much better health plan for retired players. It is criminal that the players' own union has never made this a priority. 

[bitonti]

10 hours ago, jgb said:

But Gisselle might

Even if they approved her, no not really. Nor either of them together. 

this is the list. The real list.

https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/

Out of 500 Woodrow is ranked 488. Kraft is 492. These guys have an uncomfortable amount of their total wealth derived from their team value. They would not be approved as new owners. the smartest thing either ever did was buy the Jets and the Pats it barely got them on this list. 

 from the ownership perspective, they'd rather have guys in the top 100 like Paul Allen.   But Sergey Brin and Musk don't gaf. Carlos Slim would be a hilarious owner lol. 

Steven Spielberg is ranked 293.  He'd have to liquidate a ton (about a third to half his total value) to buy a team. It's doable though in theory.   

Other names people might recognize are Ralph Lauren and Julia Louis-Dreyfus's (Elaine from Seinfeld) cousin from Switzerland. They did not make their money from TV. 

 

Oprah Winfrey on the extended list she's ranked 660th. Her net worth 2.8 Bil is about what NFL teams go for these days.