Joe DeLamielleure, a football star for Center Line St. Clement, an All-American at Michigan State and a first-round draft choice for the National Football League's Buffalo Bills in 1973, is speaking out on behalf of NFL players who are suffering from a degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
DeLamielleure, 62, an offensive guard who is a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, was diagnosed with the disease last fall; he's one of the few living ex-players known to have it. CTE, which is incurable and progressive, has been discovered during autopsies of more than 50 former NFL players, including Junior Seau, Dave Duerson, John Mackey and Mike Webster.
Always vocal about how the NFL treats retired players, since his diagnosis, DeLamielleure’s voice has taken a different, even more urgent tone, writes David Sciott in the Charlotte Observer.
DeLamielleure, a Charlotte resident who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003, faces a future of dealing with the disease with health insurance he receives only through his wife Gerri’s work medical plan. The NFL doesn’t provide health care to players starting five years after they have retired.
DeLamielleure has never thought that was fair, especially now that he has become one of the first living NFL players to be diagnosed with signs of CTE. DeLamielleure, along with former Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, New York Giants linebacker Leonard Marshall and Miami Dolphins receiver Mark Duper were tested and diagnosed at UCLA last September.
“I was injured in the workplace,” said DeLamielleure, 62. “My wife doesn’t need to be working for my medical (insurance). The NFL can fix that in a minute.”
DeLamielleure said he was never diagnosed with a concussion during his playing days, but figures he endured tens of thousands of blows to the head. He said he has 68 percent hearing loss in his left ear from repeated head slaps from defensive linemen.
