MIKE DITKA PRESENTS HIS 1975 NFC CHAMPIONSHIP RING TO CALIFORNIA NFL FAN WHO DONATED MONEY TO HELP NFL PLAYERS IN DIRE NEED
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Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund Board Member Mike Ditka and Founder Jerry Kramer presented Mike Ditka’s 1975 NFC Championship Ring to Mike Sportelli, an NFL fan from California who was high bidder during the GGAF online auction. Over just the past few weeks the auction and donation drive has raised more than $200,000 for players in dire need due to the lack of adequate pension and disability provided by the NFL and NFLPA. Spotelli is one of hundreds of fans who are making donations to the fund. The donation drive and auction are ongoing.
“The outpouring support from football fans across the country has been wonderful,” said Mike Ditka. “The fans are directly impacting the lives of some of the players who helped to build the NFL into what it is today. Together, the GGAF and fans are doing what the union and league are not currently doing, which is assisting these men in dire need and helping them live out their lives with dignity. This is an issue that is currently not being addressed by the owners, union or league but should be. I am asking fans and corporate America to participate in the donation drive and auction”
Click here to make a donation or call 1-800-708-1078.
Sportelli, a sales representative for a construction supply company in Los Angeles was the high bidder during the GGAF auction for Ditka’s ring (paying over $12,000), as well as a celebrity experience with Gridiron Greats board member and Hall of Fame player Harry Carson. Upon learning that he won the experience, Sportelli, a huge NY Giants fan, offered an additional cash donation. He and a friend will have the opportunity to play a private round of golf with Carson. Many celebrity experiences are currently at auction.
“I wanted to help the efforts of the fund because I have been a fan of the game for so long, and the treatment of these retired players just doesn’t seem fair. I can remember all of these guys from their playing days. I could name the entire rosters of at least five teams when I was a kid. I can barley name more than a few of the guys playing today. I tell all my friends to donate, and I hope many other fans will step up and support the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund,” Sportelli said.
Dikta and Kramer also addressed the reasons behind the need for the GGAF initiatives and discussed some of the specific issues facing many retired players in dire need due to lack of adequate disability and pension support from the NFLPA and the NFL.
There are hundreds of retired NFL players who have repeatedly been turned down for disability by the NFL and NFLPA. Many players are in desperate need of financial aid to help cover skyrocketing medical costs and basic living expenses like shelter and food. The Gridiron Greats Assistance fund has been created to assist those in dire need by providing financial aid or support services.
Jerry Kramer recently paid a visit to his teammate, Hall of Fame player Willie Wood, who is now in a nursing home awaiting knee surgery and suffering a multitude of physical ailments, including painful knees, hips, arthritis, gout, diabetes, and high blood pressure. He is wheelchair bound due to the abuse his body took during his long and distinguished career. The cost of his medical care is astronomical, and he is in need of financial assistance.
“Willie is just one example of why this fund has been created,” said Jerry Kramer. “It’s our mission to provide services and financial aid to improve the quality of life for these guys. We are here to help those who have been left by the wayside financially and physically due to insufficient pensions and lack of disability benefits.”
Since the launch of the Fund on February 2nd, many retired NFL players in dire need have contacted the Fund seeking assistance. Among them are a former Chicago Bears player who is in a nursing home and in need of additional staff due to his size and condition, a former Green Bay Packers player who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease in need of a feeding tube and is requesting support to be placed in an assisted living facility, Pro Football Hall of Fame member Willie Wood who is in an assisted living facility with early dementia has requested assistance so he can stay in the facility and receive rehabilitation with the hope of being able to return to living independently, and so many others.
The Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, will provide medical and social services assistance to retired professional football players and their immediate families. The Fund is intended to assist players in their payments for medical costs and basic needs. Each case will be considered on an individual basis taking into account a number of factors, such as income, current other support, source of need, lack of ability otherwise to address the need, and other matters. Other than medical needs, players may apply for temporary assistance for basic necessities of life, including but not limited to food, assistance with housing and shelter, assistance with transportation, clothing, and other basic needs.
In addition to financial support, the fund will also provide the coordination of other types of assistance that may be available. Players requesting assistance from GGAF will be asked to fill out a streamlined packet of information. The fund will provide a person that is dedicated to helping the players fill out the forms for GGAF aid as well as assisting them to apply for other help that may be available. This is truly a unique service that the GGAF is providing to players and their families.
“If the fans and corporate America continue to support our efforts, we will be able to improve the lives of many,” said Jennifer Smith, Executive Director of the Fund. “This afternoon Mike Ditka’s Restaurant in Chicago will host a GGAF board meeting. Mike Ditka, Gale Sayers, Jerry Kramer, and the other board members which include other NFL legends and well respected legal, financial, and technical advisors will spend the afternoon in private meetings to begin to facilitate the disbursement of some of the funds to retired NFL players in dire need. We need continued support, so we are able to help as many of these men as quickly as possible.”
