Rocky Mountain News – Steve Atwater, the former Denver Broncos safety, and others have accused the National Football League and its players association of endorsing a fraudulent hedge fund managerwithout adequate background checks.
The football players said in a June 23 lawsuit that they relied on the recommendation before parking about $20 million in funds offered by Kirk Wright, head of International Management Associates.
They said they used the NFL Players Association’s financial adviser program, created to protect them and the big money they earned against crooked money managers. And it did not live up to the promise, the players said.
“The program, the NFL and the Players Association failed us, and we’ve lost millions,” Atwater said in a statement released Monday by his lawyers. “We want to fix the program and make sure this never happens again.”