Winslow, and more sports stars, on bikes....

[PeteSC]

Uneasy riders dot the pro sports landscape
Sunday, May 15, 2005
BY MIKE GARAFOLO
Star-Ledger Staff
Jamie Henderson could have saved Kellen Winslow Jr. a lot of pain, a lot of scrutiny and possibly a lot of money. If the former Jets cornerback had been able to talk to the Cleveland Browns tight end, Winslow might not have mounted his Suzuki GSX-R750.

Winslow might not have even bought it.

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Henderson, still healing from the April 2004 motorcycle accident that put him in a coma for three weeks, is trying to resume his football career after scraping and bouncing along a Georgia highway. Intensive therapy was needed to regain his speech and motor skills, and although he is working out in his hometown of Carrollton, Ga., he knows the road back will be tough. In the meantime, he preaches against motorcycles.

He said he cringed when he learned about Winslow's accident.

"I really hated to hear that," Henderson said. "I had hoped that everyone saw what happened to me and learned from it. Obviously, they didn't."

Winslow crashed his new bike on May 1 while traveling 35 mph and popping wheelies in the parking lot of Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. When the bike hit a curb, he flipped over the handlebars and his helmet flew off. Winslow suffered unspecified internal and knee injuries, and left a hospital on crutches nine days after his accident.

Winslow had bought the powerful motorcycle in April and had a learner's permit, but he had ignored advice about getting lessons. He became the latest professional athlete to be seduced by the power and speed of a racing motorcycle, putting his career in jeopardy.

A look at some of the most serious motorcycle accidents involving pro athletes:


Giants running back Gary Brown, coming off a 1,063-yard season in 1998, was left for dead in Williamsport, Pa., by a hit-and-run driver who collided with his Suzuki in 1999. His career was effectively ended by a series of injuries that followed his gruesome mishap. After 55 carries in 1999, he retired.


Chicago Bulls guard Jay Williams, who grew up in Plainfield and played basketball at St. Joseph's High in Metuchen, crashed his Yamaha sportbike into a pole in Chicago in June 2003 after his rookie NBA season, suffering major internal and leg injuries. The accident was so serious that doctors considered amputating one of his legs after he arrived at the hospital. He probably won't play pro basketball again, and the accident cost Williams, a No. 2 overall draft pick, more than $7 million when the Bulls bought out his contract for $3 million.


Henderson lost control of his new Kawasaki Ninja ZX-R6 while trying to take a curve during a late-night ride in Carrollton, Ga. The resulting injuries left him with severe swelling in his brain.

Motorcycle-accident deaths and severe injuries have been rising steadily since 1997, and medical and safety experts blame relaxed helmet laws, bigger bikes, older riders and alcohol. Deaths of motorcyclists increased for the seventh consecutive year in 2004, federal statistics show, although exact numbers are not yet available. A report by the federal government reported 3,661 motorcycle deaths in the United States in 2003.

Still, these numbers haven't discouraged pro athletes from buying and riding motorcycles. Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal and Boston Red Sox pitcher David Wells are known motorcycle enthusiasts whose love of riding hasn't waned.

Some believe the reckless attitude that makes athletes game-breakers willing to risk their bodies for victory also makes them fearless on a bike. A few days after Winslow's accident, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told reporters he likes to ride without a helmet. His comments touched off a firestorm and brought a scolding from team officials.

"Some of them think they're indestructible," Mets senior vice president of baseball operations Jim Duquette said. "They think nothing is going to happen to them if they do this or do that. It's the same mentality that leads them to such success on the field that, sometimes, can also be their downfall off it."

Said Henderson: "We're athletes. We thrive on rage. That bike gives you a big rage."


THE RUSH

Chicago White Sox center fielder Aaron Rowand thrived on the high he experienced on his dirt bike. But in November 2002, that feeling landed him in the hospital.

Riding in the desert near his off-season home in Las Vegas, Rowand attempted a jump. He rode up the side of a steep slope and went airborne, expecting a smooth landing on the downslope. But there was no downslope, only a 25-foot drop into a dry creek bed.

He suffered two broken ribs, a broken left shoulder blade and a bruised left shoulder, and he considers himself lucky to be alive. He stopped riding and sold his bike but kept his cracked helmet and chest protector as a reminder. Teammates nicknamed him "Crash" when he arrived at spring training four months after the accident.

"The freedom of it, the excitement of it, being out in the middle of the desert riding and jumping is what I enjoyed," Rowand said. "But the risk-reward factor just isn't that good. You want to kick yourself every day you wake up to go to rehab. And I have a family to take care of. It's not just me that I'm worried about."

The reaction to Winslow's accident and Roethlisberger's comments seem to have made some athletes wary of speaking about their love of motorcycles.

Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jon Runyan, whose affinity for cycles is mentioned in the team's media guide and on its Web site, did not return messages left on his cell phone.

Requests to speak to Wells and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Drew Bledsoe -- who rode a motorcycle while he played in Buffalo, according to a Bills spokesman -- were unanswered.

A Chicago Bears media relations official said he spoke to one player who owns a motorcycle, but the player did not want to comment. The spokesman wouldn't reveal the name of the player.

Former Devils defenseman Tommy Albelin says he still rides. He said Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur has a bike and rides, and also lists Theo Fleury, Bill Guerin and Jason Arnott as NHL players, past and present, with motorcycles.

"I usually saved it for the off-season," Albelin said. "But in my early years in Sweden, I rode back and forth to practice. I'm not concerned with myself. I'm concerned with people around me. I started riding motorcycles at 16, before I drove a car."

Asked what advice he would give if he were a general manager, Albelin said: "I would tell players, 'Don't get a (big) bike and get the proper riding instructions.'"

But Henderson offered a dissenting opinion: "Obey your contract."


LEAGUE RESTRICTIONS

Standard NBA contracts contain a clause that specifically forbids many non-basketball activities, including motorcycling and moped riding.

Major League Baseball contracts prohibit players from riding motorcycles and allow teams to release violators for a fraction of their guaranteed contracts. When Atlanta Braves outfielder Ron Gant broke his leg in a riding accident before the 1994 season, the team was able to cut him, obligated to pay only one-sixth of his $5.5 million salary.

The standard NFL contract includes a vague reference to activities "which may involve a significant risk of personal injury," intended to cover a wide range of dangerous hobbies.

Athletes, aware of the ban, have tried to hide motorcycle injuries or fabricate stories. In 2002, second baseman Jeff Kent -- then with the San Francisco Giants -- claimed to have broken his left wrist during a fall while washing his truck. Witnesses later said they saw him doing stunts on his motorcycle.

In the NHL, players are banned from playing certain sports -- such as football, lacrosse and boxing, but motorcycle riding is not mentioned in the collective bargaining agreement.

Some athletes have tried negotiating their way out of restrictive clauses. While stars often had enough leverage to demand such changes, teams recently have refused to back down, pointing to the millions of dollars they are investing in the player.

"I find less and less agents even fighting," Duquette said. "It's not even an issue like it had been in the past."

The Jets could have torn up Henderson's contract immediately after the accident. Out of courtesy, though, they kept him on their non-football injury list last season and paid him until releasing him last February.

Even though the NFL clause provides teams with plenty of protection, clubs will try to add specific bans when they become aware of a player's dangerous activities. The Browns included a clause that prohibited Winslow from riding a motorcycle. If he misses one game, they could demand he repay a $4.4 million option bonus and $5 million of his $6 million signing bonus.

In Winslow's case, there is no gray area. The restrictions are easily defined. But some player representatives see a potential problem with the standard stipulations.

"There is some ambiguity in the language. It just mentions hazardous activity," said Arizona-based agent Eric Metz, a partner in LMM Sports Management, which represents more than 50 NFL players. "But I don't know if driving responsibly with a helmet and safety equipment as a licensed driver is necessarily the same as someone popping wheelies in a community college parking lot or racing up and down a street."

Metz represents Chicago Bears guard Ruben Brown, a motorcycle rider. Metz said there are no added clauses in Brown's contract to restrict his riding. The Bears and the Bills, for whom Brown played during the first nine years of his career, have contributed to Brown's annual charity ride, Metz said.

As long as Brown abides by the laws of the road and takes proper physical precautions, riding a motorcycle doesn't constitute "hazardous activity," Metz said. He believes Winslow's accident might force the league's management council to re-examine and clarify the terminology in the standard contract.

"The higher the profile," he said, "the quicker the reaction."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said he is not aware of any upcoming discussions regarding non-football injury clauses. Under the current agreement, any disagreements between a team and a player on what constitutes dangerous activity could be settled in arbitration.

Aiello said the current clause is not specific for a reason.

"If you try to get specific, where do you draw the line?" he said. "If you miss something that turns out to be a dangerous activity, someone could point to it and say, 'Gee, well, you didn't have that in there.'"

Agent Kenneth Zuckerman of Priority Sports & Entertainment, said players must police themselves. He represents more than 25 athletes and said he has several clients who ski, even though the activity is forbidden by their contracts. He added that his clients who once owned motorcycles no longer ride them.

"I think they bought them, it sounded good, they got on them a little bit and realized they didn't have the control," said Zuckerman, a former college football player who used to ride a motorcycle. "Athletes are usually in total control. I think when a guy gets one, rides it and realizes when he cruises around the street, 'Whoa, I almost got hit,' he stops riding."

Said Browns coach Romeo Crennel: "We can't hold these guys' hands 24 hours a day. We have to hope that they're going to make sound, logical choices."

Team and league officials and agents will try to dissuade them from motorcycle riding by pointing to the dangers of injuries and lost wages that could climb into the millions.

"I pretty much tell my guys the same thing my father told me when I was a young boy," Metz said. "'If you ever get on one of those things, I'll kill you.'"

But do they listen?

"Yeah," he said. "Well, most of the time."

[devildog0]

That has to be the most stupid argument against motorcycles ever.  I don't give two $hits what some idiot sports star contract says.  Most of the described incidents involved either a.)something the rider could not control such as the hit-and-run driver or b.)inexperince by the rider (i.e. sports star) that caused him to wreck.  The stars need to know the risks of riding and also the increased risk of a huge loss of money from breech of contract.  I'm tired of people who have never ridden before telling me how bad it is.  Do they think that just becasue some sports star got hurt I'm just going to be oh no if they get hurt I can get hurt.  Guess what I already know I can get hurt and I accept that risk.   If they can't they shouldn't be out telling people who have that they shouldn't be riding.  It is not their, nor anyone elses place to make that decision for anyone else except for maybe your child.

Okay I'm done now.

[jimmym1296]

If they really wanted to protect their players, they wouldn't let them drink! How many pro athletes have you read about who maimed, killed themselves driving their sportscars drunk? But because it's a motorcycle, it makes big news.