Dan Marino reportedly seeks to withdraw from NFL concussion suit

Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino is reportedly seeking to remove his name from a lawsuit against the National Football League over tackle-induced concussions, having joined the action in "error."

Court documents filed in Philadelphia indicated Marino’s participation in the suit, but the inclusion of the former Miami Dolphins player as a plaintiff was later called into question.

“It was never Marino’s intention to initiate litigation in this case, but to ensure that in the event he had adverse health consequences down the road, he would be covered with health benefits. They are working to correct the error,” a source told the Sun-Sentinel, a Florida news outlet. According to the paper, Marino’s withdrawal could be a done deal later on Tuesday.

Marino, 52, spent his entire 17-year career with the Miami Dolphins and set numerous NFL passing records.

The former quarterback said he suffered two concussions during his long professional career, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

The 18-page suit filed in federal court claims that the NFL knew there was a link between concussions and long-term health problems for decades and "concealed information about football-related brain injuries," the Los Angeles Times reported.

A growing body of academic research shows that repeated hits to the head could produce a condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can lead to aggression and dementia.

Marino, 52, spent his entire 17-year career with the Miami Dolphins and set numerous NFL passing records.

The remaining participants in the suit are asking for monetary damages to be determined at a jury trial and for medical monitoring for the former players.

Each complainant submitted a short-form filing with standard language that they suffer from brain injuries and exhibit symptoms that have developed over time.

The document did not specify the nature of their injuries. Although not necessarily fatal, degeneration of the brain after repeated concussions can have deadly consequences.

There have been suicides in recent years involving current and former NFL players, including Jovan Belcher, Junior Seau, Ray Easterling and Dave Duerson.

Duerson left a suicide note asking for research into what was wrong with his brain. “Please, see that my brain is given to the NFL’s brain bank,” the note read, according to The New York Times. He shot himself in the stomach to ensure that his brain remained intact.

In an effort to tackle the problem, the NFL has made changes on the field, including banning the most dangerous helmet-to-helmet hits and requiring teams to keep players who have taken hits to the head off the field if they show certain symptoms including dizziness and memory gaps.

This latest filing follows a $760 million settlement between the NFL and more than 4,500 former players over concussions that was rejected in January by a U.S. judge who said it might not be enough to pay all of the affected players.

That lawsuit, filed in 2012, contended that the league hid the dangers of brain injury among players while profiting from the sport's violent physical contact. The NFL has contended that it never concealed information related to head or brain injuries that might occur while playing in the league.

Up to 20,000 former players could ultimately still be eligible for payments over the settlement's 65-year span.

"I am primarily concerned that not all retired NFL football players who ultimately receive a qualifying diagnosis, or their related claimants, will be paid," U.S. District Judge Anita Brody wrote at the time.

Al Jazeera and Reuters