As Marcus Freeman drove out of Indianapolis after a failed physical with the Colts only four days after they lost the Super Bowl, he couldn't help but think about Gaines Adams, who had died less than a month earlier but the linebacker from Ohio State, the Bears' fifth-round pick a year ago, also couldn't imagine an enlarged heart valve in his left ventricle ending his football career. Colts doctors told Freeman he wouldn't pass an NFL physical less than a year after he was given two EKGs at the scouting combine, information that was available to all NFL teams. "They had found my heart had come back abnormal at the combine and they redid (the EKG)," Freeman said. "After I took it again, nothing was said about it and we moved on. I don't know if it was (enlarged) then or if it happened in the recent year or what. The Bears never mentioned it. They were more concerned about my knee and trying to make sure that was healthy. That's the biggest thing, I think, why I was shocked in Indianapolis." The Bills and Texans also never mentioned his heart and a Bears spokesman, citing legal issues, declined to make general manager Jerry Angelo available for an interview. Source: Chicago Tribune
At least he is alive to tell the tale. Either the Bears need to hire better doctors or their doctor's ethics need to be reviewed.
