Kyle Turley made a living protecting quarterbacks. For some offensive lineman, this may simply be a job. For Kyle, looking after those who needed that protection has proven to be a way of life both on the field and beyond.
According to the NFL Players Association, the average length of an NFL career is 3.3 years. This, in large part, is due to the violent nature of football. When you add in the youth leagues, high school and college football that prepare you for the NFL, the result can be catastrophic to the human body.
Cue “the protector.”
Kyle Turley: Protector of More Than Quarterbacks – Part Two
Turley serves on the board of directors for the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund (GGAF), along with Mike Ditka, Marv Levy, Gale Sayers and Matt Birk. The GGAF is a non-profit organization which helps those seemingly forgotten retired NFL players which may need financial or medical assistance.
When asked about his involvement with the GGAF, Turley had no issue sharing his thoughts. “Without the GGAF, we would not see the changes we have in the game today for players. We started in 2006. It’s no mystery why in 2007 the NFLPA started their own efforts towards repairing the damage in the system”, Turley stated. “For a guy like (Mike) Ditka who was a hard-nosed guy to finally have understood where he was wrong, you need to go to make it right. Without his leadership, the league would not be anywhere close to where it is today.”
So, the NFL has it right now, correct? With the NFL concussion protocol, minimizing the impact of pre-season on the players, etc. we must be in a good place now, no?
Not according to Turley.
“The NFL has no focus on head injuries,” he noted. “They’re just putting Band-Aids on the situation. There’s really no protocol that’s worth anything. They’re exploiting the athletes and giving them false hope in many ways.”
This is a strong statement from a player who knows first hand what the game can do to you. Kyle has already seen early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, chronic traumatic encephelopathy (brain disease most common with repeated blows to the head) and a host of additional physical and psychological pains.
So was the change in the stance of the NFL pushed on them or was it a proactive solution to an obvious problem?
“The NFL doesn’t do anything proactively for the players,” Turley mentioned. “They’re only reactive when others expose these wrongs. Until I donated a game check as an active player, it (concussions) would have remained a very minor story on the media’s radar.”
He continued to paint the picture for me, an excuse-littered picture that still looks bleak. According to Turley, it still seems the league is quicker to blame the pitfalls of a retired NFL’er on substance abuse, gambling addictions or bad business practices before accepting any portion of the responsibility for their current state.
Does Turley have any fear of what the future holds for him, medically?
“Of course,” Kyle said emotionally. “What I know about is why I do have fears. Hopefully what I’ve discovered about certain medicines will allow me to circumvent that outcome without it.”
The medicine Turley is referring to is cannabis.
When asked about whether he saw cannabis as a realistic option in the future for NFL players, the advocate mentioned, “It’s not what I say, it’s what science says and what the government says. This is a neuroprotectant, an anti-inflammatory and has tremendous medicinal benefits.”
Turley continued to mention that as the surge in medical marijuana continues across the country, along with cannabis companies stepping up to sponsor naming rights on stadiums, the NFL will eventually come around.
So, with all of the bumps and bruises of an NFL offensive lineman, all of the hazing and injustice he witnessed along the way and all of the information he has now, would he do it all again? Yes.
“I believe I would do it again just because I love football so much.” said Turley. This love, along with the knowledge he has gained since he was drafted in 1998, is what pushes Kyle toward his answer. Turley went on to add, “That’s why I say and do what I do. I want to fix it (football). These idiots (The NFL) just have to wake up and address these things intelligently instead of running from them.”
Selfishly, my interview with my all-time favorite New Orleans Saints player ended with me asking if there was a possibility of an auto-biographical documentary or book. Turley humorously declared, “I’m not a book guy myself. To sit down and write a book… Maybe one day if I connected with the right people to write a book, that could happen. My music is my story and that’s what I use to tell it.”
It appears as though life has seen him turn in his helmet and pads for a guitar pick and a cause. Whether it’s a highlight video on YouTube, his involvement with the Gridiron Greats or the constant pursuit to help today’s players live a healthier life post-NFL, it is well documented that Kyle Turley has continued to protect anyone who may need his help.
