Three independent doctors ruled that the San Diego Chargers' team doctor is "totally exonerated" after a protest by the NFL Players Association, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune.
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A team source said the NFLPA officially requested a review of Dr. David Chao in February of 2012. During Super Bowl XLVII, NLFPA leaders expressed that Chao was unfit to serve in his role and should be replaced.
"It seems to me that the players of the National Football League deserve to have a doctor who's not been found liable of malpractice," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said in a news conference.
A provision of the collective bargaining agreement established a Joint Committee on Player Safety and Welfare, composed of three representatives each from labor and management. The NFLPA called upon this measure to prompt a formal review of Chao.
During the summer of 2012, the state of California sought to revoke or suspend Chao's license, citing evidence that he committed acts of gross negligence in his care of three patients in 2007 and 2010. An article in USA Today confirms that Chao was found liable for negligence in two malpractice cases, resulting in multimillion-dollar payments to the victims.
However, Chargers players said they had no issue with the care provided by Chao, and the independent doctors found there was no basis in the NFLPA's complaint.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
