Riddell
Encyclopedia
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, soccer, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, NCAA Football and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
. It is headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois
Des Plaines, Illinois
Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It has adopted the official nickname of "City of Destiny." As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,720. It is a suburb of Chicago, and is next to O'Hare International Airport...
.
The company was started by John Tate Riddell. Riddell first invented the removable cleat and then went on to invent the first ever plastic suspension helmet in 1939 http://www.riddell1.com/newsite/AboutUs.php. In 2008, Dan Arment was appointed president of Riddell. Arment previously worked as executive vice-president and general manager of mass-market buiness for Easton-Bell Sports, Riddell's parent company, which is owned by private equity firm Fenway Partners
Fenway Partners
Fenway Partners is a private equity firm that makes leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in transportation, logistics, consumer products and manufacturing companies in the middle market....
. Fenway acquired the company in 2003 from Lincolnshire Management
Lincolnshire Management
Lincolnshire Management is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout investments in middle-market companies across a range of industries.The firm, which is based in New York City, was founded in 1985 by Frank Wright and Steven Kumble...
.
Football helmets
Riddell is widely known for its line of football helmetFootball helmet
A football helmet is a protective device used primarily in American football and Canadian football. It consists of a hard plastic top with thick padding on the inside, a face mask made of one or more plastic bars, and a chinstrap. Some players add polycarbonate visors to their helmets, which are...
s.
In 2002, Riddell released a new helmet design called the Revolution
Revolution helmets
Riddell Revolution helmets are a line of football helmets designed to provide optimal protection for their users. The Revolution’s design has been proven to reduce the risk of sustaining head injuries during football games. These helmets are currently used by 83% of the players in the National...
or "Revo" for short http://www.riddell1.com/newsite/product_com.php?cPath=104_76_105. The newer design was released in response to a study on concussions. The design is becoming more popular in the NFL and NCAA, being used by notables such as Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
, Dwight Freeney
Dwight Freeney
Dwight Jason Freeney is an American football defensive end who currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse University.-Early years:Freeney attended Bloomfield High School...
, Casey Hampton
Casey Hampton
Casey "Big Snack" Hampton, Jr. is an American football nose tackle who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League.-Early years:...
, and Brady Quinn
Brady Quinn
Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. Quinn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.-Early Years:Brayden Tyler "Brady" Quinn was born on...
, as well as having been used by Eli Manning
Eli Manning
Eli Nelson Manning is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He is the younger brother of NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning...
during the 2005 season
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
.
Riddell is also known for its Revolution IQ HITS helmet (Head Impact Telemetry System). The sensors inside the helmet called MX Encoders store data from each impact and can be transferred to a laptop to be reviewed by coaching staff or physicians. The helmets cost about $999 and are already being used by NCAA football teams.
Other helmet styles produced by Riddell include the Revolution Speed and the Revolution IQ. The company also produces a youth line of helmets including the Revolution Speed Youth, Revolution IQ Youth, Revolution Youth, Revolution Little Pro, Attack, VSR-4, VSR2-Y and Little Pro.
Riddell is currently being sued by multiple NFL players. More than 125 former NFL players are now suing the league and helmet-maker Riddell for not disclosing and, in some instances, allegedly hiding the risks of repeated head injuries. There are "at least three" personal injury cases pending in California and one more in Pennsylvania. According to the AP, the cases represent the "first examples of former players joining together to file concussion-related lawsuits against the NFL." Lawyer Thomas Girardi represents dozens of the players in two of the complaints. He says the goal is to enact "necessary changes" to protect future generations of players, as well as "set[ting] up a medical process so [the plaintiffs] can have medical attention for this injury as long as they need it," in addition to financial compensation. The NFL is taking the position that players knew the risks when they made football their career and that there was "no misconduct or liability" on the league's part. The question of what the NFL knew and they knew it regarding concussion is likely to be the sticking point. Players intend to show there was "a history of literature showing that multiple blows to the head can cause long-term damage" that got buried by the NFL and that the league also "fraudulently concealed the long-term effects of concussions," including the increased risk of dementia. The players appear to have allies in Washington. Yesterday, a Senate subcommittee held hearingw on misleading safety claims made by sports equipment companies. One thing is certain: it's going to be a long slog for both sides, without a clear endgame. For example, the players are seeking judgments "in the millions of dollars," though no specific numbers have been listed in the court documents. The consensus from lawyers on both sides is that the lawsuits could take years to be sorted out. Nobody associated with the players, the league, or Riddell was even "willing to guess how long it could be" during discussions with the AP. [AP] --Kristwin (talk) 23:28, 20 October 2011 (UTC)