Lawrence Tynes hasn't kicked in the NFL since August 2013 when he suffered a MRSA infection in his toe.
Since the infection essentially ended his career, Tynes is seeking $20 million from the Buccaneers, the team he was on when he was diagnosed with the ailment. He's claiming the team provided “unsanitary conditions."
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“The negligence and premises liability lawsuit, filed by Podhurst Orseck and The Brad Sohn Law Firm in Broward County Circuit Court, seeks compensatory damages for (Tynes’) lost salary and substantial pain and suffering," a news release from the firm said.
“As the lawsuit alleges, Tynes contracted a Methicillan-resistant Staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) infection from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Training Facility, which ended his career and cost him more than $20 million in expected future earnings."
Tynes wasn't the only player on the Bucs who had the MRSA infection in 2013. Cornerback Johnthan Banks and left guard Carl Nicks were the others, and Nicks retired last year partially due to the health risk. Before leaving the Bucs, Nicks reached an injury settlement with the team reportedly worth $3 million. The team eventually had to sanitize its entire facility to get rid of the infection.
This isn't the first time Tynes has taken action against his former employer. When the Bucs didn't place him on injured reserve after the infection showed up, he was upset with the team because he considered it a football injury.
"If I drop a 45-pound plate on my foot while lifting weights in the weight room at the facility, it's IR," Tynes said to FOX Sports in June 2014. "So I just don't understand how my situation is any different. I went to work, I kicked, I practiced, I cold-tubbed, I hot-tubbed, I showered for all those days there. I come up with MRSA and it's a non-football injury? They're basically trying to exonerate themselves of this, and I'm not going to allow it to happen."
The decision to not place Tynes on injured reserve could have been a preventative step for future litigation, which the team is now facing. If they placed him on IR it could have been seen as admitting Tynes contracted MRSA at their facility.
Tynes never kicked a game for the Buccaneers after signing with the team as a free agent in 2013. Before playing for Tampa Bay he was a two-time Super Bowl winner on the Giants.
