Ex-NFL players blame league for brain injuries

ATLANTA (AP) -- Jamal Lewis, Dorsey Levens and two other former NFL players say in a federal lawsuit that brain injuries have left them struggling with medical problems years after their playing days ended.

Lewis and Levens, along with Fulton Kuykendall and Ryan Stewart, filed the lawsuit against the National Football League and FNL Properties LLC this week in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.

The players maintain the NFL knew as early as the 1920s of the potential for concussions to harm its players.

They argue the league concealed the dangers from coaches, trainers, players and the public until June 2010, when it publicly acknowledged the health threats and warned players and teams.

NFL representatives did not immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press.

All four ex-players live in the Atlanta area.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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