A former National Football League player is suing the Washington Redskins for a career ending injury he suffered in 2004, reports Virginia Lawyers Weekly.
Barrett Green, 35, drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2000 and signed a contract worth just over $13 million with the New York Giants in 2004, claims that he suffered a knee injury that ended his career as a result of a bounty program instigated by the defensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins at the time, Gregg Williams. Green claims that Williams incentivized his players with cash rewards to intentionally injure opponents.
Green suffered a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in December 2004 during a hit initiated by then Washington Redskins tight end Robert Royal. Green was transported off the field, and while he underwent surgery in an attempt to fix his knee he was never able to return to form. The Giants bought out the remainder of his contract the following year.
The suit names Williams, Royal, and the Redskins organization as defendants. The NFL suspended Williams in 2012 after he acknowledged his involvement in a bounty program while working with the New Orleans Saints between 2009 and 2011, where he would give cash payments to players who injured opponents and told his players to attempt to hit the heads of players known to be suffering from concussions.
The Redskins were also investigated for bounty program claims while Williams worked there from 2004-2007, but the NFL cleared them of those accusations last August.
In the lawsuit, Green claims he lost $10 million in wages because of the hit, and expressed his suspicion about a bounty program at the time of his injury but nothing came of it. Green is seeking punitive damages, and the complaint includes battery and negligence against Royal, counts of vicarious liability, negligent supervision and negligence against the Redskins, and a single count of negligence against Williams.
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