Leonard Marshall is on a mission.
The defensive end who won two Super Bowls with the Giants and has been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain condition, offered this challenge to the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell.
“I want to see the NFL do what’s right,” Marshall told The Post Thursday night at Tiff’s in Pequannock, N.J., where he was hosting a Super Bowl benefit for players who participated in the NFL concussion settlement. “I would love to talk to the commissioner about this. I would love to hear him say, ‘We will fix this as best we can.’
“It’s not about an admission of guilt, the admission of guilt is signing that big paycheck that is paid to these players and their families,” Marshall continued. “Kids are now dealing with not having their fathers around, spouses don’t have their husbands. Families are disconnected because they don’t have that focal person in their family, that warrior, that guy was somebody’s hero at one time and now he is nothing.
“This is all going on and let’s figure how to take care of it. Don’t tell me a guy has to be dead in order for you to pay his family. Accept the examinations. If a guy went out and had a neurological study done and that study says he has CTE, take care of him and his family. Do the responsible thing.
“I’m on a mission to try and make it right and I’m not going to stop.
“I just want to level the playing field for those who are dealing with CTE. It’s a job-related illness. To say you could have developed CTE at the college level is absurd because you go through an extensive physical before you enter the NFL.
“There should be more ways to look at this through neurological studies, how a guy develops CTE, and if he has CTE, how do we remedy and treat CTE,” Marshall added. “Because it does lead to ALS and other issues associated with ALS. It’s scary because of the depression that develops from CTE because of the damage of the frontal lobe area of the brain. And I deal with it every day.”
Marshall, 52, said he has good days and bad days. On bad days he can’t even get out of bed.
“We’re not saying it’s all the NFL’s fault, but this is a work-related illness and let’s deal with the consequences of the illness,” Marshall said. “If we do that NFL than we’ve done the right thing. If they just wash their hands of you and say you are on your own, that’s not fair.”