Injury Coverage
Kelly Bates
CFL.ca
This season has started out with a bang. After the bang there was a crack, a snap, a pop and various other noises that occur when serious injuries happen on the playing field. With the advent and implementation of high definition TV, the increased number of TV cameras at each CFL game, the ability to watch anything repeatedly on the internet and our human nature’s inability to look away when something gruesome is shown vividly in repetition, most CFL fans have witnessed some very disturbing injuries so far this season.
In the wake of the horrific injury suffered by Jason Tucker, I began to wonder what kind of failsafe do we, as union paying Canadian Football League Players Association (CFLPA) members have in place to protect ourselves? Especially, in the case of a career ending injury of the most catastrophic sense: paralysis.
All CFLPA union members are covered under an insurance plan. Upon accidental death or dismemberment a one-time payment is made to the player or beneficiary. If it is deemed a catastrophic injury then payment is doubled. However, medical coverage will be terminated the day before the beginning of training camp of the following year.
Basically, in the case of a spinal cord injury that results in paralysis, a player would be paid a one-time sum of money. His health coverage would cover medical expenses up to and until the day before the opening of training camp of the following season. No matter what the state of the player at this point in time, his coverage from the CFLPA medical plan is cut off. This is unacceptable.
In case of Jason Tucker, doctors have stated that 70 per cent of people with his injury have incurred paralysis. Jason was one of the lucky 30 per cent and although he may never play again, he will be able to walk.
If Jason’s injury had been worse, eventually, he would have had to find another way to pay for the ongoing care he would have required. In the game of football, where injury can and often does result in the end of a playing career, I would like to think that a player and his family can feel secure in and be protected by proper medical coverage that will be there to help them get through any situation, especially in the event of a catastrophic injury.
Our current collective bargaining agreement concludes at the end of the 2009 season. I would hope that every member of our union takes an educated look at the current situation of our medical coverage plan and ensure that this issue is at the forefront of the next round of negotiations. I would think Jason Tucker feels the same way.
Kelly Bates has been a regular starter along the BC Lions’ offensive line since 2003. He was a 2007 CFL All-Star and played his 100th career game in Week 3.
