Regarding Easley, saw this posted on Reddit. Sad, but then cool....
This is always great to see.
For some history, ibuprofen was approved for OTC in '84, and it was looked upon as a miracle cure-all for muscle-pain. There's a story I recall of it being around like candy in the Seahawks clubhouse. The trainers back then didn't monitor the players too closely. Easley was apparently taking ~8500mg a day for months, and it ruined his kidneys. His production dropped off, but his medical situation wasn't known until the Hawks traded him to Phoenix & he failed his physical.
There is also some speculation (mostly on KE's side) that the Hawks traded him because of he was the Seahawks player representative during the '87 strike. There's not much evidence on that, but then, there wouldn't be much evidence anyway.
It was really bad for Kenny during those years. His kidneys were shot, and he was on dialysis, twice a week. He sued the Seahawks, settled out of court, and he wrote off the team completely. (Luckily, he received a kidney transplant a few years later, but I'm sure there were some bitter angry years in there.)
He was inducted into the Seahawks Ring of Honor in '02, and thankfully by that time, things had changed enough, from the team to Easley, that they began to bury the hatchet. But it was bad-- one of the greatest Seahawks was sitting in AZ with a burning hate for the team. It really bothered me.
He was my favorite Hawk, and he sort of symbolized to me what happened to the team in the late 80's & 90's. He was such a fierce competitor, a hard-hitting take-no-prisoners kinda guy. Something that really stood out in Seattle sports at the time.
Seeing him embracing the team again whole-heartedly like this is truly awesome.
