stevewin Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 BN The Colts voided the trade after their diagnosis revealed McCargo had a bulging disk in his back. But the Bills’ medical staff found no such evidence and cleared him to practice Thursday. “He passed our physical, and every physical is different in the National Football League,” Jauron said. “I have great confidence in our medical staff.” First of all - there is a huge difference between "no such evidence" and "yeah - we know about it, but don't think it's serious". So one team - based on their physical - is saying that due to a medical condition he is physically unable to play for them, while another team says the condition doesn't even exist(?!) It seems in effect teams can just make stuff up to get out of deals? It seems there should be some kind of process to submit a grievance to the league to perform 'medical arbitration'. Have some league sanctioned medical staff perform their own examination and determine whether the player is in fact healthy enough to play. If anything shouldn't situations like this raise a red flag to the league and the player's union? - if one team determines a player is physically unfit to play in the league, how can they be comfortable/justify that the player continues to be out on the field playing for another team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 BN First of all - there is a huge difference between "no such evidence" and "yeah - we know about it, but don't think it's serious". So one team - based on their physical - is saying that due to a medical condition he is physically unable to play for them, while another team says the condition doesn't even exist(?!) It seems in effect teams can just make stuff up to get out of deals? It seems there should be some kind of process to submit a grievance to the league to perform 'medical arbitration'. Have some league sanctioned medical staff perform their own examination and determine whether the plaer is in fact healthy enough to play. I agree with this but i think that the team reciving the player should have the right to say no if they find something they feel isnt right. In this case his back but it is a little odd that the bills staff couldnt find anything at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazed and Amuzed Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Seems like a great backup if a team gets "Buyer's Remorse". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 I think the term "bulging disc" can be misleading. I've had back problems and an MRI showed two bulging discs. According to my doctor, the severity of a bulging disc ranges from zero to can't stand up. In fact, most adult males would show irregularities on an MRI that could be called a bulging disc. Anyway, my experience with back stuff is that it is often very open to interpretation and you can definitely get very different information from different doctors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003Contenders Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Seems like a great backup if a team gets "Buyer's Remorse". Agreed. I suspect that either Polian/Dungy were less than enamored with McCargo when they brought him in. Or they found out additional information about him after the fact -- and asked the medical staff to find the flimsiest of reasons for failing a physical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eSJayDee Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Assume that making a trade is much like buying something. It's certainly reasonable to have the ability to return goods if they don't live up expectations. Specific example, walk into Lowes & buy some composite decking. Bring it home, read the instructions & see that it can't span more than 16" OC. You want to build your deck 24" OC. Nowhere was it shown that the stuff was inadequate for the prescribed use EXCEPT hidden in the instructions. (BTW, I haven't made this error, but only cuz my neighbor redid his deck 1st & educated me that most stuff requires short spans. Let this be a warning to you DYIers that are considering redoing or installing a deck.) Now, let's say that Indy wants their DL to be either over 300 lbs or maybe be able to bench press 400. (Or perhaps in this case have a certain amount of flexibility/motion in their back/spine). They give him a physical & find he only weighs 298 (despite him being listed at 307). They've just "bought" goods that was not what they expected. It's reasonable that in a good faith transaction, they be allowed to return said merchandise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewin Posted October 17, 2008 Author Share Posted October 17, 2008 I understand it can/is used to return unwanted merchandise - my point though is that it seems there could be some avenue for the team getting the returned player to get the league involved and say "we feel there is nothing wrong with the merchandise, and feel the deal is legitimate and we should be getting what is owed us as agreed to in the original deal". It seems everyone just kind of goes along with it - I guess maybe the feeling is that at some point you or anyone else reserve the right to use this method to back out of a deal (even potentially with questionable justification) and it all evens out in the end(?)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Agreed. I suspect that either Polian/Dungy were less than enamored with McCargo when they brought him in. Or they found out additional information about him after the fact -- and asked the medical staff to find the flimsiest of reasons for failing a physical. I think that may be a lot closer to the truth than most people would be willing to admit. I understand it can/is used to return unwanted merchandise - my point though is that it seems there could be some avenue for the team getting the returned player to get the league involved and say "we feel there is nothing wrong with the merchandise, and feel the deal is legitimate and we should be getting what is owed us as agreed to in the original deal". It seems everyone just kind of goes along with it - I guess maybe the feeling is that at some point you or anyone else reserve the right to use this method to back out of a deal (even potentially with questionable justification) and it all evens out in the end(?)... The league should have an arbitrating doctor that can look at both teams medical reports and make a final decision on these things if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortured Soul Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 BNIf anything shouldn't situations like this raise a red flag to the league and the player's union? - if one team determines a player is physically unfit to play in the league, how can they be comfortable/justify that the player continues to be out on the field playing for another team? The Colts didn't find him "physically unfit to play in this league." They were taking on someone with two years left on his contract and could've had concerns about a slight problem developing into a big problem. But if you want to waive the right to reject a player due to a physical or set parameters on the physical, put that in the terms of the trade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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