Posted on 03/07/2005 3:16:50 PM PST by SmithL
OAKLAND - Former Oakland Raider Marcus Williams has suffered "irreversible" brain damage as a result of being punched in the face in August 2003 by then-teammate Bill Romanowski, a doctor testified today.
Dr. William Mathews, who has 37 years' experience as a brain surgeon, testified in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland as a witness for Williams in the ex-player's multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit against Romanowski.
Williams, 27, alleges his promising National Football League career when Romanowski knocked his helmet off and delivered a practice-field uppercut on Aug. 24, 2003. James Brosnahan, Williams' lead attorney, said the punch broke Williams' eye socket and caused brain trauma, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Mathews, who is affiliated with several Bay Area hospitals including John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek and Mount Diablo Medical Center in Concord, testified today about his observations of the effects of the blow.
"Overall, I think that Marcus Williams has a traumatic injury to his brain that in some aspects is irreversible," Mathews testified.
The surgeon said the injury has manifested itself in changes in Williams' personality and has also affected his intellect, speech, memory, vision and balance. Some of those changes, the doctor testified, are "probably irreversible."
Several of Williams' family members, including his mother and grandmother, testified last week in the civil trial that the punch had broken his spirit, transforming him from an upbeat and gregarious young man to someone who is now irritable and withdrawn.
Romanowski's attorney have rejected that notion that the punch resulted in any serious injuries and have characterized Williams as a marginal player now looking for an illegitimate payday.
Mathews is expected to continue testifying this afternoon.
Not really (and that is why I said on another extent) - The basic point being if we grow a nation of wimps who honestly think suing is the answer to a fight on a football field between two men......we are going down a road that does not produce men who when the going gets tough....get the tough going.....
We will grow men such as France does today -
Not really (and that is why I said on another extent) - The basic point being if we grow a nation of wimps who honestly think suing is the answer to a fight on a football field between two men......we are going down a road that does not produce men who when the going gets tough....get the tough going.....
We will grow men such as France does today -
That's a big part of this story -- Romanowski has been a punk for a long time.
You saying that US soldiers are steroid-addled psychopaths?? Take it back buddy, before you piss some people off!
From what I have read / heard Romo told Williams afterward he was sorry - he'd pick up his medical bills and that should have been that -
We do not need lawyers, courtrooms and judges for situations like these -
Williams is not owed millions of dollars - That type of thinking is simply ridiculous -
You mean that our soldiers are on steroids and suffering from roid rage, the way Bill Romanowski is? Sheesh.
No, I never said anything remotely close to that - Anyone willing to have an ounce of intellectually honest would know that -
It is you who made the silly comparison. Buddy.
I haven't but my son has. He played for two different high school teams. The first team was coached by a disciplinarian who stressed teamwork to an extraordinary degree and would not tolerate any of his players losing their cool and fighting with or taking cheap shots at a team mate during practices or games. That team went 11-0 my son's sophomore year.
The second team was at a larger high school that had better athletes including a couple of prima donnas who were allowed to play on talent alone. Discipline was inconsistently imposed, and the coach tolerated fist fights between players without a second thought. That team went 2-10. My son, a junior, got fed up with this second team and quit before the first scheduled game. It's a shame, because he would have been a starting pulling guard, at 6'2" and 245 pounds with 4.6 speed.
This may not mean anything beyond these two teams, but sometimes I wonder.
Ahhh...but did you "play football at a competitive level?" :0)
Oh, you're comparing Romanowski to our brave fighting forces? Seriously?
bwahahahahahahahaha!
F' You and your jock attitude.
F'ing Romanowski never donned "THE" uniform, and neither did you. He went after the money, and now he has to defend it.
F' You for bringing the military into your f'ing jock p!ssing contest, @sshole.
The fact that Romo wasn't charged, and Williams was cleared to play by the team doctor afterwards says all we really need to know re this incident.
Besides, I don't remember anybody getting excited about Romo when he was with the niners, or even with Denver, at least 'till he spit at JJ Stokes. And the Williams thing was his one & only incident at Oakland.
Could be all this is just a Raiders thing - Silver & Black just intimidates some guys:)
You say here that Romanesko is the same type as is in the US military. But in fact Romanesko is a sociopath whose behavior has been warped by years of steroid abuse. Is that really what you think of the US military?
Not the Kansas City Chiefs............ :0)
scratch that. Romanesko is a blogger and a pretty good one. Romanowski is the nutcase.
Huh? -The quote you list is not even referring to when I was discussing Romo! - It was referring to what a person should do if they get their as$ kicked - To which I said deal with it - (not sue!). Those that wouldn't sue are the type of men I was referring to not wimps who run to lawyers.
Why don't you tell us exactly how far he would have *had* to go before legal action takes place (since some of us with less 'common sense' still think fracturing people's skulls is a bad, bad thing):
Neck breaking OK?
Compound skull fracture OK?
Deliberate breaking of legs OK?
News flash: occasionally, the presence of lawyers and judges *is a good thing*!
Romo was basically a criminal who had a talent in playing football. If he wasn't on the football field, he would be in San Quentin. Defending his actions isn't even something his own teammates would do, it doesn't make sense that somebody completely outside of the situation would do so either.
Lawsuits are a legitimate way of resolving damages. Not all of them are frivolous. If I decide to drive over your wife, its not fair to just tell you to 'get over it' and 'grow a sack' or something similar. There are some cases of real damages which cannot be remedied aside from the exchange of money. In this particular case, the plaintiff is going to lose hundreds of thousands at least and possibly millions of dollars simply by being unable to make an NFL roster during the few peak years he has. Considering that this was a completely intentional act, wouldn't it actually be more 'manly' to tell Romo to step up and pay the man instead of hiding behind a lawyer to avoid being responsible for his actions while he was taking illegal drugs? Its not as though his sneak attack on this player somehow benefited his team. Maybe Romo ought to be compensating the Raiders as well since he cost them loads of money also?
If you want to go back to the wild west days before courts became the venue for civil tort remedies, Romo would either be shot by the family of this guy or jailed for the assault. Maybe the family would just kill Romo and take whatever possessions he had as their own as penance.
If Romo where at all innocent here or if his actions had been taken in the course of the game (ie, Jack Tatum - dirty but by the rules), then there wouldn't be a lawsuit and I would completely agree with you that this was a guy who was underinsured and trying to cover his @ss with Romo's money. But there is nothing yet presented which indicates that this was anything but a criminal act by a guy who was already breaking the rules by drugging himself.
And if you want to address this on just football terms, why didn't the Raiders just ignore this incident if this is the way football teams police themselves? Why aren't Romo's teammates sticking up for him? Even hockey fans, who think fighting is one of the fundamental parts of the game, were horrified when that player got sucker punched into a coma last year. Even players who have six figure dental bills thought that this was a criminal act and not a single one came out and excuses it as 'part of the game.'
This act was simply beyond defending - unless you are Johnny Cochran or Mark Geragos. And that is who Romo is now left with as companions.
If Romo was innocent here there wouldn't be criminal charges.
Wait a minute, there isn't.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.