Former players say safety net jeopardized by investment scam

<p>Steve Atwater says he told his four kids the family's recent trip to Cancun may be its last for a while. Blaine Bishop says he's tossed and turned at night worried his retirement safety net may be in jeopardy.</p><p>The two former National Football League players insisted Friday that the league and its players union are to blame for the $20 million they and five other current and former players lost in an alleged investment scam.</p><p>"They are a huge billion-dollar company," Atwater, a former Pro Bowl safety for the Denver Broncos, said of the NFL at a news conference. "We hope that they would at least come to the table and talk to us."</p><p>Bishop said he's past being mad at the scheme authorities say hedge fund manager Kirk Wright cooked up to steal the players' money. Now, he said, he just wants his money back so he can take better care of his wife and 5-year-old son.</p><p>"It's not to the point of filing for bankruptcy, but it's a large sum of money," said Bishop, a former Pro Bowl safety for the Philadelphia Eagles who also played for the Tennessee Titans. "It didn't destroy us, but ... the NFL failed us."</p><p>The seven players have sued the league and its union to recover the money they lost to Wright's International Management Associates, claiming the union endorsed the services of the investment firm even though Wright and his partner had tax liens against them.</p><p>The suit filed June 23 in federal court in Atlanta says the league and the NFL Players Association are liable for the losses.</p><p>The players also say the union failed to certify that Wright was properly insured.</p><p>NFL spokesman Joe Brown said Friday that the lawsuit will have to take its normal course in the courts.</p><p>"We met with representatives of the players last week prior to the filing of the lawsuit. However, the litigation is now in the hands of the attorneys," Brown said. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Tuesday that the league regards the lawsuit as unfounded and without merit.</p><p>NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis declined to comment Friday on the players' accusations. He also would not comment on the assertion by the players' lawyers Friday that they asked the union to sit down with them before filing the suit and the union refused.</p><p>"I can't comment on it because I'm not aware that they requested a meeting with the NFLPA," Francis said. "They may have, but I'm not aware of it personally, so I can't comment on it."</p><p>Wright was arrested in Miami Beach in May on federal fraud charges. He also faces a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against him and his company.</p><p>According to authorities, Wright and his company collected as much as $185 million from at least 500 investors since 1997 and misled some of them to believe the value of those investments was increasing using false statements and documents. As recently as Jan. 25, the firm reported $166.6 million in assets spread across five hedge funds it manages and advises. That money is now missing, according to the SEC.</p><p>While Atwater, 39, and Bishop, 35, would not disclose Friday how much money they lost individually, the residents of Duluth, a suburb outside of Atlanta, said the scam has affected their lives and perhaps their futures, as they have relied on their NFL earnings for their retirements and vacations with family like the one Atwater recently took.</p><p>"I told the kids we better enjoy it," Atwater recalled. "Unless we get the money back, these trips will be far and few between."</p>

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