Two former NFL players, Stacey Bailey and Eric Curry, have accused the NFL of continuing to use race-norming.[1] “Race-norming is a type of statistical manipulation in which Black players are assumed to start out with lower baseline cognitive functioning.”[2] The former players are alleging that the league’s disability benefit plans are using race-norming to deny them the full payouts they believe they are entitled to receive.[3] Bailey and Curry filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in Baltimore.[4] This lawsuit is the second suit of its kind this year to claim that the NFL bases payouts on race-norming.[5]
The complaint filed on September 29th, 2023, stated that both players qualified for benefits for “moderate” impairment, but instead were diagnosed with “mild” impairment.[6] The reduction in impairment severity unjustly reduced the level of benefits the players were entitled to receive.[7] The players claim that the diagnosis is based on the assumption that Black applicants have a lower level of intelligence and cognitive ability than their white counterparts, and thus are required to meet a higher standard of impairment to collect benefits.[8] Other class members in the lawsuit are claiming that they, too, have been treated the same way.
Bailey and Curry suffer from “neurocognitive impairment that has resulted in memory loss, language difficulty, and an inability to perform many day-to-day tasks.”[9] Bailey’s impairment is so severe that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2020, and Curry has “a documented history of functional decline due to neurological impairment.’’[10]
In 2021, the NFL admitted to race-norming after a lawsuit by two Black former NFL players.[11] The league and the players entered into a large concussion settlement, and the NFL promised to stop using its use-norming procedures. However, in the suit filed by Bailey and Curry, the players allege that the league has continued to use race-norming practices and has denied non-white players from receiving their full benefits.
After previous litigation on this topic, and being called out for it, the NFL stated that “no race norms or race demographic estimates — whether Black or white — shall be used in the settlement program going forward” and the NFL will not be able to appeal to settlement administrators to require race norms be applied.”[12] However, it is apparent that the league has failed to live up to this promise.
The NFL always appears to stay on top of social injustices and promotes equality. But how valuable is this really if it can’t uphold the values it promotes? The truth of the matter is that the NFL is run by a group of people that race-norming does not affect. With only two owners of color in the NFL it is clear that the league is made up of predominantly white owners.[13] The NFL in its entirety needs to make a better effort to hold itself accountable and practice what it is preaching.
[1] Ex-Players Claim NFL Benefit Plans Still Use Race-Norming – Law360
[2] NFL, Class Attys Pave Way For Race-Norming Deal Approval – Law360
[3] Ex-Players Claim NFL Benefit Plans Still Use Race-Norming – Law360
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] NFL, Class Attys Pave Way For Race-Norming Deal Approval – Law360
[13] Pro sports ownership is still a white men’s club (cnn.com)