Boo Williams wakes up each morning not knowing how the pain will hit. It could be debilitating headaches that make it impo sible to get out of bed. Sometimes the pain shoots down his neck. Through all of it, hes angry. Williams, who played tight end for the Saints from 2001-05, needs surgery, medicine and doctors, but struggles to afford any of it. The 44-year-old, who lives in Picayune, Mi si sippi, was recently awarded $5,000 a month by the NFLs disability benefit plan, but says the plan and the league have repeatedly mishandled his claims and should have paid him $500,000 or more over the past 14 years.I need all the help I can get because, some days, it feels like its going to be Wes Iwundu Jersey all over, he told The A sociated Pre s. Sometimes I cant sleep. It all makes it harder when youre fighting to get what you deserve and all you do is get frustrated.His story is not unlike dozens of retired players in similar positions who spend their days picking through a web of lawyers, paperwork and bureaucracy in a fight against the NFL and its NFL Player Disability & Neurocognitive Benefit Plan.ADVERTISEMENT Over the past 30 years, the league has added millions of dollars to the plan for retired players with injuries they suffered playing football or that emerged after their careers were over. Approved as part of the collective-bargaining agreements between the league and players union, the plan expects to pay more than $330 million in benefits in 2023, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said. But plaintiffs lawyers point to a high rate of claim denials and a system in which doctors a signed to examine players are paid by the NFL plan as evidence the system is rigged against retirees.___EDITORS NOTE This story includes discu sion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, please Shaquille O’Neal Jersey call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at .___Earlier this year, 10 players, including retired Pro Bowl running back Willis McGahee, accusing the program of unfairly denying benefits to injured retirees.After years of putting their bodies on the line with the NFLs promise of a sistance should they need it, former players are met with an unfair and biased system for obtaining their rightful benefits, said Sam Katz, an attorney representing players in the lawsuit. Williams’ journey through the claims system began in 2009 when he sought benefits under the leagues line of duty disability policy for active and recently retired players who Darrell Armstrong Jersey suffer football-related injuries. All signs pointed toward him receiving payments of around $2,400 a month, after an orthopedic doctor a signed by the plan evaluated Williams. Dr. George Canizares graded Williams whole person impairment, or WPI, a gauge of the severity of his injuries measured by standards set by the American Medical A sociation at 27%. Rules at the time said if a player was rated 25% or higher he could receive benefits.But three weeks after Canizares filed his report, he sent an addendum downgrading the severity of one of Williams injuries, to his left shoulder, at the suggestion of NFL Disability Plan Director Dr. Stephen Haas. Cro sed out was the 27 in the spot labeled Combined WPI% Impairment. Next to it, 24 was handwritten and circled. It would take another 14 years for Williams to get approved for benefits. Thats what led to a lot of my depre sion, Williams said. I couldnt get any help. I didnt see how a guy who wasnt in the office could tell the doctor to change the number like that.Neither Canizares nor Haas responded to me sages for comment left by the AP.NFL spokesperson McCarthy said the NFL and the unions jointly developed and administered program led by neutral medical personnel fairly delivers benefits to deserving players and their families.Williams has received about $45,000 after finally getting approved this year. It has allowed him to rent a house, but he still has no car and says he cant afford medical care for his neck injury.NFL health insurance for retired players ends after five years, so Williams benefits stopped in 2012. After that, he struggled to pay for doctors visits and MRIs on his constantly aching neck. When Williams finally did get approved for NFL disability payments this year it was based on what a program-appointed neuropsychologist determined were psychiatric impairments that rendered him totally and permanently disabled. The approval was for the Inactive B Nikola Vucevic Jersey level, which pays $5,000 a month to players who apply for benefits after theyve been retired 15 years. Its le s than half of what he would have received if approved at Inactive A, for players before the 15-year mark. Williams appealed, arguing for the increased benefit because the 2023 approval was based on identical medical information used for a December 2019 application filed before the 15-year deadline and rejected. The program rejected that application in part because the plan-appointed orthopedic doctor who examined Williams ruled he could participate in sedentary and desk work. The denial letter focused on Williams having mi sed appointments with program-appointed doctors, which can result in rejected applications. It made no mention of the 2009 exam included in the application, with the cro sed-out 27% whole-person impairment rating replaced by 24%. Because program rules required him to wait a year and then , Williams couldnt reapply until this year after the 15-year window had expired. But, in any case, Williams said, the league should have been well aware of his i sues and not only because of the medical records he submitted over many years. Tracy McGrady Jersey Ive called their suicide hotline when Ive had episodes. They dont help you, he said. Ive been telling them about my neck for decades. Theyve seen the fracture and the tear in my shoulder for decades. Bottom line, they dont care.___AP NFL: