tonight, reflecting on a painful past. the former nfl player. >> it hurts. it hurts. >> accusing the league's concussion payout program of raci racism. >> i feel like i've been betrayed. looked at as less than. >> and facing the heat. the attorney behind that landmark concussion settlement now with a stunning admission after families say he failed them. >> i was wrong. >> and on the heels of an abc news investigation the make announcement from the nfl pledging to end the use of the controversial practice known as race norming. this special edition of "nightline," "out of bounds," will be right back.

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or even her book tour. no, she's thinking about something more important. and thankfully so is her automobile. the safest, most technologically advanced car we have ever introduced. cares for what matters. the new s-class. from mercedes-benz. ♪ good evening, everyone. thanks so much for joining us. i'm linsey davis. tonight the fight to level the playing field, black former nfl players living with the aftermath of head ings sustained in the game accusing the league's concussion settlement program of discrimination. now the nfl pledging to end that controversial practice known as race norming. just as the outrage reaches a tipping point. here's abc's ryan smith. >> i chose to give everything

that i had. when playing for these teams. and then not being able to be supported by the fraternity that i gave my all to is hurtful. >> reporter: for louis leonard, a former nfl defensive tackle, this is personal. months after an abc news investigation examined allegations of racial bias in the nfl's concussion settlement program, louis and his wife, lacy, are demanding answers. >> they're making money off the backs of our husbands and our fathers and our brothers. >> i understand it's a business, but it hurts. it do. it hurts. >> reporter: the leopards are joining a growing chorus of black former nfl players and their families speaking out about the protocols used to determine compensation for some head injuries on the field. like kevin henry and najeh

davenport, who spoke to "nightline" earlier this year about their lawsuit against the fl nfl. >> i'm looked at differently and it pisss off. >> that's literally the definition of systematic race m with this race norming stuff. >> at the center of the firestorm is a controversial practice known as race norming which is coming under increased scrutiny. critics say it's discriminatory as being used in the nfl concussion settlement program because it assumes black players start at a lower cognitive level than white ones. making it harder for black players to prove enough damage to qualify for payouts. >> intentionally going about making sure that there's two set of metrics used for black players than white players is insulting. >> reporter: amid mounting pressure, nfl commissioner roger goodell faced questions from reporters ahead of this year's super bowl. >> are you guys looking into this? i know a report also surfaced on abc that some doctors actually

fear discrimination is taking place. >> we'll continue to see if there are changes that need to be made. but those will be determined by the court. >> reporter: then in march in a surprise move the federal judge presiding over the settlement ordered the nfl to reopen negotiations with the class of former players to address concerns about race norming. hours before our story went to air in a statement to abc news the nfl pledged to eliminate race norming from the program, saying they've assembled experts to identify alternative testing techniques. attorney chris seeger is representing the former players. he's the same man who negotiated the original settlement. but he's now under fire himself. from several outraged players and their families. >> i'm really sorry that anybody, anybody, any client of mine in this program has been made to feel this way. that is a big mistake. it was a failure of the system. >> reporter: now in an exclusive interview with abc news, seeger is making a shocking admission.

>> i was wrong. >> reporter: after years of controversy, in 2013 the nfl and thousands of retired football players came to a landmark agreement. hundreds of of millions of dollars have already been paid out to more than 1,000 players suffering from the lickeringeri effects of head injuries. seeger was its biggest architect and its biggest cheerleader. >> you're not going to hear me try to claim that it's perfect. it's the result of litigation and nothing that comes out of litigation is perfect, but it's good. >> they were tough negotiations. probably the one case in my career where there was a lot of storming out of the room, yelling and screaming. >> reporter: and now eight years later seeger and the nfl are back in top secret negotiations. where do those negotiations stand? >> i'm on top of this, and i'm going to eliminate race norming from the settlement. because if i can't do it by agreement i'm going to go to court. and we'll do it that way. and in addition to that i need to conduct an investigation, which i'm in the process of doing. and if that results in me having

to score every single claim again especially where race norming was applied, i will fight to have that done. >> we're talking about millions and millions and millions of dollars, maybe more, that the nfl might have to pay out if you look back and you look at all the people that maybe should have received compensation but didn't because of this issue. do you think the nfl is likely to go for that? >> the ability to pay is there. there's no question about it. we've got 32 billionaires there. they've got plenty of money. >> so for former black players and their wives and their families who have felt discryptdiscrypt discriminated against, what argument do you make to them that you are the best person to represent them in this process? >> i'm fully cognizant of this country's history of what has happened to black people in this country. can't say i'm walking in somebody else's shoes but i'm not oblivious to it. this has to get fixed. this is deeper than just the nfl concussion settlement. >> reporter: hanging in the balance are families like the leonards. >> at 3:15 for louis leonard. >> reporter: this doctor's appointment is one of about 100 that louis at 36 years old says

he has to go to every year. >> hello. >> reporter: today he and his wife, lacy, are seeing his primary care physician. after a hospital stay for a kidney infection. >> you have to tell people hey, man, chronic kidney disease. >> reporter: it's just one of many ailments louis lives with. but what's worse, the leonards say, are the injuries you can't say. cognitive damage that affects louis's memory and mood, leading the couple to divorce at one point. >> i started seeing a lot of personality changes. there was a lot of things that back then i didn't realize was even attributed to what he was dealing with cognitively, which knowing what i know now really affected our marriage. >> reporter: the two eventually reconciled, but day-to-day life is still a struggle. >> i dealt with a lot of different things. lack of sleep, impulsive behavior, just kind of just doing things and not really knowing why. >> reporter: in 2017 louis was evaluated by two clinicians to see if he was eligible for

compensation through the nfl's concussion settlement program. both found that louis at 33 years old had moderate dementia. and a settlement administrator approved him for close to a $2 million payout. >> it really broke me down. but that's the first time that i've really understood i had something going on mentally. >> reporter: but the nfl appealed, claiming among other that were used were patently - inconsistent with the program's guidelines. the nfl recommends clinicians adjust test scores for factors like age, gender, education, and race. also known as race norming. how did it make you feel to see the nfl appealing that, saying well, maybe the right standards weren't applied? >> it hurts because i know what i deal with. >> it's sad. let's be clear who is really keeping the nfl dollars in. it's these black players.

it's 70% black. so to make it harder for these men to receive the benefits that they so right think deserve is really disappointing and extremely sad. >> reporter: some doctors use race to make assumptions about a patient's background, supposedly helping them make better diagnoses. but the practice is coming under increasing scrutiny, from critics who believe it can lead to discrimination. the league says that doctors were supposed to use it attar this own discretion on a case-by-case basis. that it's recommended and not required. but when one of louis's clinicians did not adjust his scores to account for race, the league objected. >> i just wondered how many other players have had the same experience. and unfortunately, the nfl hasn't come clean or come forth with who actually has been given awards. >> what's your biggest concern as you move forward with your case? >> well, our case was denied. so i guess my only concern is

that people will be held accountable for what they're doing to these players. >> oh, man. >> i went from being, you know, full-time working mom to having to reduce my hours at work because i was finding myself really needing to be there at the appointment so i can have a better understanding of what louis is going through. and i think sometimes the underlying issues are left unheard. >> reporter: lacey has joined a sisterhood of wives who support each other while caring for their husbands. roxanne gordon brought these women together, fueled in part by her own frustrations. after the nfl appealed the claim award for her husband, amman gordon, a former defensive end. i think anyone watching today would wonder why are you here and not your husbands? >> having traumatic brain injury from repeated head injury alone coping just through the day is

difficult enough. to have them sit and regurgitate this and talk about this is just for some of our husbands almost impossible. >> i think the public has this image of nfl players, they think of it as being glamorous. what would you say to that? >> oh, i would definitely say don't believe everything you see. when they come home to us battered and bruised, we're the ones taking care of them. >> understand that there is another layer to this entertainment that you perceive. >> the wives are taking aim not only at the nfl but also at chris seeger, whose firm received more than $50 million in legal fees. >> we all feel that he has really sold our families out. and so we would like him removed as counsel and have an impartial group of class counsel seated in his stead. >> reporter: one of the wives, amy lewis, even started an online petition, which not only calls for an end to race norming

but also calls for seeger's removal. it's received more than 50,000 signatures. on this day she and her husband, former washington running back ken jenkins, joined by brooke and her husband clarence vaughn, a former washington strong safety, are delivering that petition to the federal judge overseeing the case, to keep the public pressure on the court and on seeger. >> we first need to get chris seeger thrown out on his ear. >> reporter: i'm looking. this is this petition. we request you remove chris seeger as the players' attorney of record. does this kirn especially at i atime where you're charged with trying to fix this issue? >> i care about my clients. i have a lot more happy clients than unhappy clients in this settlement. and i don't know anybody who clicked yes on that petition oar if i really want to spend a lot of my time dealing with an online petition. >> you don't feel this is representative of the players you represent. >> not at all. not only do i not feel it, i know it's not. i know it's not. it's not representative of the players. it's not representative of my

position. if i was wrong and their claim was down scored because of race norming it will get rescored and they will get their money. so i'm the guy fixing it. >> reporter: when we come back, chris seeger answering his critics, admitting he was wrong when it comes to race norming. >> i didn't have a full appreciation of the scope of the problem. >> reporter: but seeger claims he's not the only one responsible. >> do i think they were wrong to do it? 110% they were wrong. ♪ this is a cold call! ♪ hello, my name is ice t. can you spare a few seconds to learn about cold water washing with tide? hi my name is steve. did you know washing in cold can save you $100 a year on your energy bill. why wouldn't you turn to cold? it helps the environment. what? because stone cold said so. plus, tide cleans great in cold. ♪ this was a cold call! ♪ open talenti and raise the jar. to gelato made from scratch. raise the jar to all five layers.

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betrayed, neglected, looked at as less than. >> reporter: in 2017 two clinicians found louis leonard had moderate dementia, qualifying him for a multimillion-dollar award from the nfl. but the league appealed because among other things louis's clinicians did not use the nfl's recommended race norms. >> it was really discouraging. he sacrificed so much for me and our family, and i feel like he deserves to have a quality life. >> reporter: chris seeger, the lead counsel for players and their concussion settlement with the nfl, is now under fire from a growing number of his own clients. who feel he let them down in the original negotiations. would you agree to a deal with the nfl surrounding this issue that continued to use any sort of race norming? >> no. >> reporter: would you agree to a deal that said that you can't

look back -- >> no. >> -- and compensate players? >> no. >> reporter: though he's critical of race norming now just three months ago seeger himself told abc news that he saw no evidence of racial bias in the settlement. >> i was wrong. i didn't have a full appreciation of the scope of the problem. the practice of law is just that, a practice. when you think you know everything, sometimes you don't. but the closer i look the more i realized this had to go. >> reporter: but the question remains. how did race norming, also known as demographic adjustment, become a part of the settlement program in the first place? >> when you go back to 2013, 2014 it was always in there was a possibility. demographic adjustments were always part -- because they were part of neuropsychology. were part of the settlement agreement. >> do you feel that it was required? >> no, it was definitely not required. but did i think that neuropsychologists would apply race norming in this nfl concussion settlement? no. >> reporter: seeger laying the blame not at the nfl but instead

squarely at the feet of neuropsychologists. the clinicians who evaluate players according to the settlement. so in your opinion you think it's the neuropsychologists who did it independently. >> what we attempted to do in the settlement is to replicate what goes on in a doctor's office. we didn't tell neuropsychs what tests to apply. and we expected them to use independent judgment as a medical professional. and in this case i expected them to apply the same standards to the same players. >> reporter: but an abc news investigation earlier this year found several neuropsychologists who say they felt pressured to apply race norms by the nfl and that when they didn't use them the nfl would appeal, resulting in players' claims being denied. in e-mails we uncovered between multiple clinicians one said, if they didn't use the race norms there would be "multiple inquiries levied at them." another questioning their "required reliance on using norms that bottom line, do discriminate against black players." it seems to me like you're

saying you didn't flow that was happening -- >> oh, no, i'm not saying it. we sensed that something was happening on this, but we saw it case by case. >> okay. >> did not have the impression it was going on systemically. there's no evidence of that at this point. but it happened more than a few times. >> so you're saying you don't know why a doctor, a neuropsychologist, would ever think this was required? >> i don't know why they would even think it's appropriate. they're either hiding behind their lack of courage or they're just plain wrong. >> reporter: seeger says that he has an ongoing investigation to check claims that have already been denied. though the nfl says there is no merit to any claim of discrimination, they say the new testing techniques they're developing will be applied to new and old cases where players may have qualified for an award if not for race norming. have you ever thought with what's going on, considered stepping aside or saying i don't want to take this role? >> no. i didn't sit in this chair and tell you i was perfect. look, i fight hard for these folks, and i am not going to be

the guy who tries to cover up something. but what i can do if a mistake is made, i can come on abc with you and tell folks what i'm doing. some people were hurt by this, but i'll get it fixed. some people were offended by this, and for that i'm sorry. but take some solace in the fact that we're going to make some changes here. >> reporter: change can't come soon enough for the leonards. >> i gave all that i could. not only for the nfl but for my family. but yet now i'm sitting here with my wife and my two kids and i feel like the organization that i gave everything for is not really giving me anything. >> i constantly worry about will he be here to help me raise our boys, will he be here to see our grandkids one day? for me as a black woman raising two black boys my biggest fear is them not being raised by

their dad. >> our thanks to ryan. and a note, there is no timeline on when chris seeger and the nfl will reach a deal. in the meantime, lawmakers are calling for the release of data on how payouts break down along racial lines, which seeger now says he supports. we'll be right back. to wait. but mr. clean clean freak delivers the power of a deep clean in minutes. unlike bleach sprays, clean freak starts deep cleaning on contact with 3x the cleaning power to break down tough messes in seconds it quickly cleans tough stove top messes stainless steel and even cuts through tough bathtub soap scum so, for a deep clean in minutes, get mr. clean clean freak also available in easy to switch refills. nicorette knows, quitting smoking is freaking hard. you get advice like: try hypnosis... or... quit cold turkey. kidding me?! instead, start small. with nicorette. which can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette

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♪ that's "nightline." you can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here at the same time tomorrow. i'm linsey davis. thanks so much for watching. good night.