Jerome Bettis Feels 'Taken Advantage Of' by NFL's Lack of Honesty on Concussions

Former NFL running back Jerome Bettis said he felt "taken advantage of" because the league didn't provide players with enough information about concussions during his playing days. 

"You definitely feel as though you were taken advantage of in a way that you weren't given that information, and you always want to have the choice of knowing, and when that is taken away from you, you feel as though you were taken advantage of," Bettis told the Associated Press on Monday, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

Bettis' comments came at an event in Israel where players visited a neurotechnology company which is working to improve how concussions are diagnosed.

Bettis played 13 seasons with the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers and earned his way to the Hall of Fame with six Pro Bowl nods and 13,662 rushing yards. He was known for his physical style of play, consistently running over defenders and never shying away from contact which earned him the nickname "The Bus."

However, he acknowledged it is difficult to avoid concussion issues with such a lengthy career: "I don't think you'll find many guys that had a long career, played 10-plus years, that didn't have a concussion."

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), the initial two claims in the NFL's billion-dollar concussion settlement were recently announced, which granted $9 million in benefits.

Per the AP: "The league was accused of hiding what it knew about the link between concussions and CTE, the degenerative brain disease that has been found in dozens of former players after their deaths."