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Upshaw Deserved Plaudits Before His Sudden Death

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By IRA KAUFMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 24, 2008

TAMPA - Gene Upshaw's associates say he logged 10 miles a day on the treadmill to stay in shape.

That regimen gave the NFLPA's executive director plenty of time to think about his accomplishments, his admirers and his detractors.

Especially his detractors.

In recent years, slapping Upshaw around for his perceived insensitivity toward former NFL players became highly fashionable.

Mike Ditka, Joe DeLamielleure and Kyle Turley seemed to take turns each week, taking Upshaw out at the knees by suggesting the Hall of Fame lineman and longtime union leader didn't care about the plight of the men who built the game.

For the most part, Upshaw took the high road, even as his legacy was dragged into the gutter.

He kept his cool, but you could tell the accusations cut right to the heart. Somehow, Upshaw took a deep breath, kept looking into the cameras and implored his critics to stick to the facts.

Unlike his many skeptics, Upshaw seldom made it personal.

Maintaining his composure must have been a monumental challenge for this man of immense pride. When the former Pro Bowl guard finally let his guard down, he made headlines by suggesting he'd like to break DeLamielleure's neck.

Now Upshaw has succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 63, unable to defend himself, even if he had the inclination.

Plaudits have been pouring in like Brett Favre merchandise sales since news broke Thursday of Upshaw's death, but this subsequent Gene-fest rings a little hollow.

Upshaw could have used some of these accolades while he was being portrayed as a fat-cat executive out of touch with destitute former players, including some he faced across the line of scrimmage.

Mark Royals tried to offer some perspective a year ago.

"Regardless of what you do, it's impossible to make everyone happy," said the former Bucs punter, who served 12 years as an NFL player rep. "I don't think Gene Upshaw is unsympathetic. You know how rare that is for any union to go back in and improve pensions? It never happens."

In retrospect, Upshaw showed remarkable restraint under fire.

The inequities in pension and disability benefits for former players are real, but Upshaw inherited those problems in 1983.

His first priority, and justifiably so, was to build a power base for his constituents, the dues-paying members of his union who desperately needed more clout across the negotiating table.

On that issue, Upshaw's record is spectacular. Few men in the past 25 years have been more responsible for the growth of pro football.

By ushering in two decades of uninterrupted labor peace, Upshaw played an instrumental role as NFL revenues soared, along with payouts to the NFLPA's rank-and-file.

He never felt he had to apologize for his hefty salary, and the current players I talked to didn't begrudge all those digits in Upshaw's paycheck.

Could he have done more for the men who toiled in the trenches before the NFL began its reign as America's premier sport?

Of course.

You can always do more, but the demonizing of Gene Upshaw stands as one of the more shameful episodes in pro football's recent history.

With each new CBA he helped forge, Upshaw made sure former players received a bump as well.

A few days before the Super Bowl between the Giants and Patriots, a group of former NFL greats gathered in Phoenix to talk about the need for improved disability and benefit packages.

As expected, the discussion quickly focused on Upshaw, prompting a flurry of disparaging remarks.

Sitting 10 feet in front of me was Joe Greene, the Hall of Fame defensive tackle who tangled with Upshaw during those memorable Raiders-Steelers matchups of the 1970s.

I asked Greene if he believed Upshaw had turned his back on former players in need.

At first, Greene appeared genuinely surprised by the question.

"No, I can't honestly say that," was Greene's heartfelt response.

It's too bad Upshaw wasn't in the room that morning to hear that answer. It would have made those treadmill sessions a little less stressful.

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