Gene Upshaw Dead at 63

wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! rip gene. that is a shocker

 

I doubt it changes anything really regarding the caps & #'s of the nfl. I won't get into anything negative but while I feel for the individual & his family, this doesn't affect the nflpa in a negative fashion imo.

 

while gene was a pioneer for sure in his role as the head of nflpa,many people in & out of the nfl have not been very impressed with his treatment of retired players when it comes to benefits. seems theres lots of guys broke, hobbling or resting in peace themselves due to a serious lack of attention to players once retired

crap I said I wouldn't bash didn't I? I have a lot of respect for the man but not the entire body of work

 

Rip

 

Sad, I pass along my sympathy and condolences.
angels are always near to those who are grieving, to whisper to them that their loved ones are safe in the hand of God.

 

I agree, I actually thought the players should have ousted him last year, when he caused such an uproar about not getting more for former players.

 

yeah, he's done some good things for sure though. No strikes maybe. players must be happy with salaries.

I hope the replacement will do something about rookie $$$ though. it is way outta hand

 

I think he was being pushed out, so I doubt it would've mattered.

RIP Gene

 

i have a pet peeve when just because someone passes, everyone makes him out to be a saint. upshaw definitely was off his rocker lately, and i think ultimately he was more of a detriment to the union than anything else. not justifying his passing, just saying i'm not going to sing that "he was such a great guy" tune when he really wasn't.

sending condolensces to his family though.

 

wow...shocker

 

Having just found out on Sunday and gone in 4 days. That has to be hard on his family. My condolences. RIP.

 

RIP Gene we'll surely miss you.

 

He was a great player, and as an executive the salaries and benefits for current players went up a lot.....but like Mike Ditka said, "He didn't do much for the players who came before." Lots of retired NFL players are dying in their 50's because many of them can't get basic health insurance.

 

I hear Jay Feeley is interested in becoming his replacement .....



Lol sorry couldnt resist that one. Anyway, great player, did some good things for the game as has been said, but yeah he definately needed replacing, though I dont think anyone really wished it was in this fashion, condolences to the family.

 

RIP gene. my thoughts and prayers go out to your family.

 

Rest in peace.

 

terrible news. may he rest in peace.

 

Although he may not be a great guy, he deserves respect.

 

am i disrespecting him? i don't think so. and as far as i'm concerned, respect has to be earned, its never given. but maybe that's just the military in me and badge of honor stuff.

the best i will do is send consolensces to his family, but i won't mourn his passing. not like anyone in his family reads this site or thread anyway. i know a lot of soldiers who were GREAT people who died for their country and didn't even get a hint of respect or care or attention that Gene gets... and this guy was most famous (before he died) for neglecting older players and being a thorn in the side of everyone to moving on with negotiations.

biggest moral of the story for me here is i'm not going to "pretend" anything, just because someone died.

 

No, not at all. I was speaking in generalof his accomplishments in life.

 

I agree 110%

 

Well, it's generally not a good idea to speak ill of the dead. Unless they really did something bad (i.e. Hitler, Pol Pot, Mao Zedong, etc). But really, you hate to hear that someone has died.

 

Was a great player. Condolences to his family.

 

Watching the 80's Raiders on NFLN right now. Gene Upshaw is one of two guys who are constantly reflecting back on the season, the other being Matt Millen. Upshaw took Millen under his wing and tutored him. I found it interesting because when Millen was drafted in '80, he converted from OL to MLB. Upshaw said Millen was one crazy bastard. Millen talked about Upshaw, saying how great he was. Found one thing that really stood out though. Upshaw and Millen were talking about the Raider Rules posted in the locker room and number one was "Cheating is Encouraged". Rule number two was " Look at rule number one". Lol, Upshaw was saying how they were told to do anything they could do to win, from holding players to punching them in the throat if they had to. Btw, man Pasterani (sp?) took some hits and finally the body broke down in week seven. Also, Ted Hendricks was one crazy guy.