Bills fans raise money for Talley

[imbondz]

http://www.gofundme.com/hvkgjo

Bills fans raise more than $30K for former star LB Darryl Talley

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24846391/bills-fans-raising-money-for-former-lb-darryl-talley


For 14 seasons, including 12 with the Bills, Darryl Talley was an NFL linebacker, racking up 1,190 tackles and two Pro Bowl honors. But as detailed in this Buffalo News story by Tim Graham, Talley is struggling these days.
As Graham wrote:

He's 54, but his body is a wreck and continues to crumble. He suspects collisions from playing linebacker for 14 NFL seasons, a dozen with the Buffalo Bills, have damaged his brain. He's often depressed beyond the point of tears. He's bitter at the National Football League for discarding him and denying that he's too disabled to work anymore. He says the Bills have jilted him, too. He learned after he retired that he'd played with a broken neck. He had a heart attack in his 40s. He lost his business. The bank foreclosed on the Talleys' home of 17 years. Against her husband's pride, Janine Talley has accepted money from friends to pay the bills. He contemplates killing himself.

His former teammates, like Bruce Smith, are frightened for him, and Talley says the future does not look bright. But he's asking for help, and in the 24 hours or so since the article was posted, Bills fans have responded.
On the gofundme.com website, this is the amount of money that's been collected for Talley. As of 10:20 a.m. ET on Friday:

[imbondz]

up to $47,000!

[better days]

The NFL is paying Talley less than half of what they should because they say he did not file the paper work in time.

What a bunch of BS that is, damn lawyers.

[Novacane]

Some really nasty people in the comments section of the news article. Prayers for Darryl.

[Dr. Lecter]

Not that I don't feel deeply for Talley and think the NFL does not properly care for former players, but I couldn't donate to him while there are people freezing to death and starving on the streets.

The idea that Talley, because he is a celebrity that many of us admire, is more worthy a donation than a guy living in a cardboard box or a single parent struggling to feed children bothers me.

[Ingtar33]

heartbreaking story.

I think I'll buy a DT jersey. For some reason I don't have one of his... and I think I'll donate some $$ as well. Him and Andre Reed were my mom's two favorite bills. When my mom was dying from cancer, some of her coworkers wrote the Bills asking for an autographed football. Darryl Talley wrote her a letter which she would always keep and read when things got tough (I wish I could remember what it said), and to top it off a week later Talley delivered the football with the whole 1989 Buffalo Bills signatures on it, delivered personally in her hospital room. He actually hung out and took pictures with her and talked to her for what she said was an hour. She died a few years later, but never forgot that.

He was there for my mother when she was at one of the roughest points in her life, so i'd like to repay the guy in kind. I just wish I could do more for him then send him money... I'll have to place some calls and see what can be done. I'm sure the people I'll call have read the article already, but, i didn't know he was having this tough of a time of it.

It would be nice if Bills fans came to the game against cleveland in 56 jerseys...

[coastal]

Not that I don't feel deeply for Talley and think the NFL does not properly care for former players, but I couldn't donate to him while there are people freezing to death and starving on the streets.

The idea that Talley, because he is a celebrity that many of us admire, is more worthy a donation than a guy living in a cardboard box or a single parent struggling to feed children bothers me.

Not to mention... it's Black Friday.

[OpIv37]

Not that I don't feel deeply for Talley and think the NFL does not properly care for former players, but I couldn't donate to him while there are people freezing to death and starving on the streets.

The idea that Talley, because he is a celebrity that many of us admire, is more worthy a donation than a guy living in a cardboard box or a single parent struggling to feed children bothers me.

That's a strange distinction to make.

If someone contributes to charities for heart disease instead of charities for breast cancer, does that mean they determined that people suffering from heart disease are more worthy than people suffering from breast cancer?

If you walk out of a convenience store with a handful of change and hand it to a homeless guy, then have no change left for the bag lady on the corner, did you just determine that the homeless guy's life was more worthy than the bag lady's?

We recently sold our house in VA and had a bunch of stuff in the attic that we donated. We gave it to Salvation Army instead of Habitat for Humanity. Does that mean that we think the people the Salvation Army helps are more important than the homeless people served by Habitat for Humanity? The reality is that the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store used to be right around the corner from that house, but they moved farther away and we were under a time crunch.

People only give so much to charity. They have various reasons for giving to one organization or person over another. Darryl Talley sacrificed his body and his health to contribute to the greatest football teams Bills fans have ever known. Of course people are going to be more willing to help someone that they perceive as having some type of positive impact in their lives over total strangers.

[Ingtar33]

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but this guy did his best to get the back of bills fans and the city of buffalo whenever he had the chance.

even if you don't have a personal experience with the guy like i do, i think he should be shown the same love that he showed the bills, the fans and the city of buffalo.

[Gilly]

Not that I don't feel deeply for Talley and think the NFL does not properly care for former players, but I couldn't donate to him while there are people freezing to death and starving on the streets.

The idea that Talley, because he is a celebrity that many of us admire, is more worthy a donation than a guy living in a cardboard box or a single parent struggling to feed children bothers me.

freezing to death and starving on the streets?

loons...

[Dr. Lecter]

freezing to death and starving on the streets?

loons...

So in your world there are no homeless and hungry people?

At least somebody like Op can discuss the point without being oblivious.

[Downinfloflo]

Not to mention... it's Black Friday.

Annual race of the *******s..

[Dr. Lecter]

That's a strange distinction to make.

If someone contributes to charities for heart disease instead of charities for breast cancer, does that mean they determined that people suffering from heart disease are more worthy than people suffering from breast cancer?

If you walk out of a convenience store with a handful of change and hand it to a homeless guy, then have no change left for the bag lady on the corner, did you just determine that the homeless guy's life was more worthy than the bag lady's?

We recently sold our house in VA and had a bunch of stuff in the attic that we donated. We gave it to Salvation Army instead of Habitat for Humanity. Does that mean that we think the people the Salvation Army helps are more important than the homeless people served by Habitat for Humanity? The reality is that the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store used to be right around the corner from that house, but they moved farther away and we were under a time crunch.

People only give so much to charity. They have various reasons for giving to one organization or person over another. Darryl Talley sacrificed his body and his health to contribute to the greatest football teams Bills fans have ever known. Of course people are going to be more willing to help someone that they perceive as having some type of positive impact in their lives over total strangers.

I don't think it is a case of worthiness and that is not what I meant at all.

What I meant is that there are people who are in a much more dire situation (unless you're in GillyVille where everybody lives in a mansion) and that are way worse off. But our society is per-dispositioned to help the famous more quickly than others.

Granted people only have so much to give to charities and we all make our choices. Some donate for cancer research. Some for AIDS. Some fo MS. Some for CF. And we will likely donate to the causes that touch closer to home. Talley's situation touches much closer to us than the person who is homeless or the single parent in an apartment for one that has 3 kids (I made this up. Gilly said it never happens) because we watched and loved those teams and in many ways Talley was the most beloved player from those teams.

But, as bad as his current situation is , he still has a place to live. He has food. Clothing. His daughters are going to college. And he is still making ~$60,000 a year.

Compare that to the people I described and the situations are not remotely close in terms of need or what they are going without.

[Dr. Lecter]

Not to mention... it's Black Friday.

Meathead's gonna call you a racist

[YardRat]

As long as the money given for Talley isn't 'taking away' from another charitable contribution that you would have made otherwise, I'm pretty sure one could chip in with a clear conscience.

[ckg927]

Total is now at $67K. In 1 day.

Good job, BillsNation.

Bad job in that you can look at the A-hole-ishness of some commenters. That is one of the down sides of the internet-being able to hurl the nastiest crap possible from your computer and you'll never truly get called out on it.

[better days]

Not that I don't feel deeply for Talley and think the NFL does not properly care for former players, but I couldn't donate to him while there are people freezing to death and starving on the streets.

The idea that Talley, because he is a celebrity that many of us admire, is more worthy a donation than a guy living in a cardboard box or a single parent struggling to feed children bothers me.

Well, if you have the money to do so, why not contribute to both Talley & the faceless homeless?

[BillsImpossible]

$73,520 and climbing!

http://www.gofundme.com/hvkgjo

The story is now getting national news attention.

Proud to be a Buffalonian!!!

Come back home, Darryl, we miss you brother.

[Mace]

Not that I don't feel deeply for Talley and think the NFL does not properly care for former players, but I couldn't donate to him while there are people freezing to death and starving on the streets.

The idea that Talley, because he is a celebrity that many of us admire, is more worthy a donation than a guy living in a cardboard box or a single parent struggling to feed children bothers me.

Well, if you reason it out and consider it, we cheered and paid for his eventual physical ruin though. I'm not sure how many people can point to the homeless and say with certainty, I cheered and paid for him to end up that way, and admired how he went about it.

[BillsImpossible]

Well, if you reason it out and consider it, we cheered and paid for his eventual physical ruin though. I'm not sure how many people can point to the homeless and say with certainty, I cheered and paid for him to end up that way, and admired how he went about it.

In a sense, you're right. Our cheers wound up breaking Darryl Talley down. Now let's build him back up with as much love, money, and support as possible.

Darryl Talley sacrificed everything he had in him for his team, and for Buffalo. He was the heart of the Bills teams that gave us so many great memories, and those memories drive us for more.

The average donation is about $25. That's a pizza and a single order of wings to help a guy who deserves the help after everything he has done for us.