ATLANTA (AP) -- Former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling has
died. He was 62.
Mary Ann Easterling said her husband died on Thursday. He was
one of seven former players who filed a federal lawsuit in
Philadelphia in August over the league's handling of
concussion-related injuries, the first potential class-action
lawsuit of its kind.
Easterling played for the Falcons from 1972 to 1979 and was the
centerpiece of the team's "Gritz Blitz" defense in 1977 that set
an NFL record for fewest points allowed in a season.
Easterling's wife said he went on to start a successful
financial services company in Richmond, Va. But she said he
suffered from insomnia, depression and other mental issues from the
repeated hits.
She said: "In everything that he did, he was a charger."

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APNP 04-20-12 1828EDT