FanHouse CarlosEmmons

The Giants announced in a press release today that linebacker Michael Boley had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip and is likely to miss 8-to-10 weeks as he recovers. That obviously means Boley won't be ready for the start of training camp, and it throws into doubt his availability for the start of the regular season. But the hilarious way in which the Giants constructed this press release was designed to make sure you know that they don't consider this a very big deal at all.

The release is titled "Giants Rookie Signings; Boley Surgery." The first three paragraphs announce the signings of third-round pick Ramses Barden and fifth-round pick Rhett Bomar. Then, out of nowhere comes the totally unrelated fourth paragraph:

Hedge fund manager/scam artist Kirk Wright's suicide in an Atlanta jail this weekend ended his life but it won't end the lawsuit his illegal actions generated. Six NFL players who lost millions because of Wright sued the NFL and NFLPA for endorsing Wright as a financial planner.

That suit was brought by Steve Atwater, Ray Crockett, Al Smith, Blaine Bishop, Carlos Emmons and Clyde Simmons and it will go forward even without Wright's input in any court proceedings. An attorney for the players says they weren't planning on calling Wright as a witness anyway but the union countersued the players and it's unclear if Wright would have been part of their case. The countersuit claims that the union doesn't endorse any financial advisers and that the players didn't exhaust internal remedies before filing suit.

It seems to me that the union should be doing some kind of work to ensure that players are being prudent about their money. It would be up to the players to avail themselves of that service, of course, but part of the union's mission should be providing players with a full menu of services to ensure the fruits of their labor. There will always be dishonesty and there will always be players who invest their money in the wrong way but the union should be trying to help their members any way they can.