Ex-players Myron Guyton, Lomas Brown, Jessie Small and Willie Whitehead do not claim in their lawsuit to be victims of Williams’ bounty system but cite it as the latest example of a culture that has left former players with debilitating conditions.

“There is nothing new or unique about what Gregg Williams said. Although the NFL has now punished Williams and the Saints, for almost its entire history the NFL glorified violent hits,” said the complaint. “It encouraged its players to think of themselves as gladiators. But, along the way, the NFL failed to educate its players about the consequences of such a win-at-all costs mentality.”

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said any allegation that the league intentionally sought to mislead players is meritless.

“It stands in contrast to the league’s actions to better protect players and advance the science and medical understanding of the management and treatment of concussions,” he said.

Guyton played for the New York Giants and New England Patriots in the 1980s and 1990s; Brown played for five teams over a 17-year career that ended in 2002; Small played for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Phoenix Cardinals and the Houston Oilers between 1989 and 1993; and Whitehead played for the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints from 1995 to 2006.

Atlanta attorney and NFL agent Von DuBose filed the lawsuit on behalf the four players and their wives. He said the men suffer from memory loss, headaches, depression and other symptoms characteristic of those with traumatic brain injuries. They are among more than 1,000 former NFL players suing the league, according to lawyers involved. The cases say not enough was done to inform players about the dangers of concussions in the past, and not enough is done to take care of them today.

“I’ve been hearing this stuff for years. And it instantly made sense when this concussion information started to come out,” said DuBose. “The dots started to connect.”

Gabe Feldman, a sports law professor at Tulane University, said the reference to the bounty system could help plaintiffs paint a picture of the sport as “not only violent but unnecessarily violent.” And though he doubts the new claim will be a “game changer,” he still expects more lawsuits to cite the scandal.

“It certainly could be persuasive in the eyes of a jury,” he said.

The complaint filed Monday said the league encouraged players to view themselves as warriors and sold films that lionized the most brutal hits, such as 1992′s “The Best of Thunder and Destruction.” It includes the cover of the VHS tape, which shows a player striking the back of an opponent’s head while a teammate tugs the same player’s facemask.

“This gladiator mentality may have allowed the NFL to generate enormous profits, but it has left its players with serious life-altering injuries, including various degrees of brain damage,” the complaint said.

As recently as 2009, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell did not acknowledge a link between head injuries on the field and brain diseases later in life. But the league has taken steps to better protect players in the past few years, and last month expanded the definition of “defenseless players” who may not be hit in the head or neck.

The Saints case is an example, though, of the competing messages that linger in some locker rooms.

The league’s investigation found that Williams’ bounty system offered off-the-books cash payments of $1,500 for “knockouts,” in which an opposing player was knocked out of a game, or $1,000 for “cart-offs,” in which an opponent needed help off the field. The league has said the bounty pool grew as large as $50,000, and that as many as 27 Saints defenders may have taken part.

The investigation led to the indefinite suspension of Williams, who has apologized for the running the system, and the season-long suspension of Saints coach Sean Payton, who was found to have initially lied about the existence of a bounty program and instructed his defensive assistants to do the same.

The lawsuit filed Monday seeks to force the NFL to better educate players on the dangers of traumatic head injuries during the crucial period immediately after the draft.

“That’s when the guys are most impressionable,” said DuBose. “One of the things that retired athletes tell me is that they could have changed their style of play if they had known. They could have done something else, but they were robbed of the information because the information flow was so one-sided.”

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In the affidavit, prosecutors also said that Martin’s mother identified cries for help heard in the background of a 911 call as her son’s. There had been some question as to whether Martin or Zimmerman was the one crying out.

The account of the shooting was released as Zimmerman, 28, appeared at a four-minute hearing in a jailhouse courtroom, setting in motion what could be a long, drawn-out process, or an abrupt and disappointingly short one for the Martin family because of the strong legal protections contained in Florida’s “stand your ground” law on self-defense.

During the hearing, Zimmerman stood up straight, held his head high and wore a gray jail jumpsuit. He spoke only to answer “Yes, sir” twice after he was asked basic questions from the judge, who was not in the courtroom but on closed-circuit TV. The defendant’s hair was shaved down to stubble and he had a thin goatee. His hands were shackled in front of him.

He did not enter a plea; that will happen at his arraignment, which was set for May 29. Zimmerman’s attorney, Mark O’Mara, has said his client will plead not guilty. A bond hearing for Zimmerman likely will be held April 20, O’Mara said late Thursday.

To prove second-degree murder, prosecutors must show that Zimmerman committed an “imminently dangerous” act that showed a “depraved” lack of regard for human life. The charge carries a mandatory sentence of 25 years in prison and a maximum of life.

The special prosecutor in the case, Angela Corey, has refused to explain exactly how she arrived at the charge. But in the affidavit, prosecutors said Zimmerman spotted Martin while patrolling his gated community, got out of his vehicle and followed the young man.

Prosecutors interviewed a friend of Martin’s who was talking to him over the phone moments before the shooting. His parents’ lawyer has said that Martin was talking to his girlfriend back in Miami.

“During this time, Martin was on the phone with a friend and described to her what was happening,” the affidavit said. “The witness advised that Martin was scared because he was being followed through the complex by an unknown male and didn’t know why.”

During a recorded call to a police dispatcher, Zimmerman “made reference to people he felt had committed and gotten away with break-ins in his neighborhood. Later while talking about Martin, Zimmerman stated ‘these a——s, they always get away’ and also said ‘these f—–g punks,’ said the affidavit, available at http://apne.ws/Itn7Nu .

It continued: “When the police dispatcher realized Zimmerman was pursuing Martin, he instructed Zimmerman not to do that and that the responding officer would meet him. Zimmerman disregarded the police dispatcher and continued to follow Martin who was trying to return to his home.”

“Zimmerman confronted Martin and a struggle ensued,” prosecutors said in their account.

The account provided no details on the struggle other than to say that witnesses heard numerous calls for help and that Martin’s mother reviewed the 911 recordings and recognized her son’s cry.

Zimmerman told authorities that Martin attacked him as he going back to his vehicle, punched him in the face, knocked him down and began slamming head against the sidewalk.

At Thursday’s hearing, the case was assigned to Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler, a 39-year-old former assistant state attorney from Sanford who was elected to the bench in 2010. Zimmerman is being held without bail at the county jail.

For all the relief among civil rights activists over the arrest, legal experts warned there is a real chance it could get thrown out before it ever goes to trial because of Florida’s “stand your ground” law, which gives people a broad right to use deadly force without having to retreat from a fight.

At a pretrial hearing, Zimmerman’s lawyers would only have to prove by a preponderance of evidence — a relatively low legal standard — that he acted in self-defense in order to get a judge to toss out the second-murder charges. And if that fails and the case does go to trial, the defense can raise the argument all over again.

There’s a “high likelihood it could be dismissed by the judge even before the jury gets to hear the case,” Florida defense attorney Richard Hornsby said. Karin Moore, an assistant professor of law at Florida A&M University, said the law “puts a tremendous burden on the state to prove that it wasn’t self-defense.”

At some point soon, Zimmerman’s lawyer is expected to ask the judge for a hearing on “stand your ground.”

“It is going to be a facet of this defense, I’m sure,” O’Mara said in an interview. “That statute has some troublesome portions to it, and we’re now going to have some conversations and discussions about it as a state. But right now it is the law of Florida and it is the law that is going to have an impact on this case.”

Martin family and their lawyer acknowledged the arrest is just a first step.

“I think that it will start the process that we are pushing for,” said Martin’s father, Tracy Martin, “but we can’t just stop because we have an arrest. We got to keep pushing to get a conviction, and after a conviction we have to certainly continue to push to get a stiff sentence.”

Martin family attorney Ben Crump said he wants to make the repeal or the amending of “stand your ground” laws in Florida and other states to be a big part of Trayvon Martin’s legacy. “We’re not the wild, wild west,” Crump said.

As for Zimmerman, O’Mara said after the court appearance: “He is tired. He has gone through some tribulations. He is facing second-degree murder charges now. He is frightened. That would frighten any of us.”

“He has a lot of hatred focused on him right now,” the defense attorney said. “I’m hoping that the hatred settles down now that we’re moving forward.”

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Bluestein reported from Atlanta. Associated Press reporters Bill Kaczor contributed from Tallahassee, Fla., Mike Schneider from Orlando, Fla., and Sonya Ross from Washington.

Zimmerman, 28, who turned himself in at a county jail Wednesday after prosecutor Angela Corey announced the charge, was to appear before a magistrate Thursday and plead not guilty in the Feb. 26 shooting of the 17-year-old that set off a nationwide debate about racial profiling and the rights to self-defense.

“He is concerned about getting a fair trial and a fair presentation,” his attorney, Mark O’Mara said. “He is a client who has a lot of hatred focused on him. I’m hoping the hatred settles down … he has the right to his own safety and the case being tried before a judge and jury.”

Legal experts said Corey chose a tough route with the murder charge, which could send Zimmerman to prison for life if he’s convicted, over manslaughter, which usually carries 15-year prison terms and covers reckless or negligent killings.

The prosecutors must prove Zimmerman’s shooting of Martin was rooted in hatred or ill will and counter his claims that he shot Martin to protect himself while patrolling his gated community in the Orlando suburb of Sanford. Zimmerman’s lawyers would only have to prove by a preponderance of evidence — a relatively low legal standard — that he acted in self-defense at a pretrial hearing to prevent the case from going to trial.

There’s a “high likelihood it could be dismissed by the judge even before the jury gets to hear the case,” Florida defense attorney Richard Hornsby said.

Corey announced the charges Wednesday after an extraordinary 45-day campaign for Zimmerman’s arrest, led by Martin’s parents and civil rights activists, including the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Protesters wore hooded sweatshirts like the one Martin had on the night of the shooting. The debate reached all the way to the White House, where President Barack Obama observed last month: “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”

Corey would not discuss how she reconciled conflicting accounts of the shooting by Zimmerman, witnesses and phone recordings that indicated Martin thought Zimmerman was following him.

“We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. We prosecute based on the facts on any given case as well as the laws of the state of Florida,” Corey said.

Martin’s parents expressed relief over the decision to prosecute the person who shot their son.

“The question I would really like to ask him is, if he could look into Trayvon’s eyes and see how innocent he was, would he have then pulled the trigger? Or would he have just let him go on home?” said his father, Tracy Martin.

Many attorneys said they had expected the prosecutor to opt for the lesser charge of manslaughter. The most severe homicide charge, first-degree murder, is subject to the death penalty in Florida and requires premeditation — something all sides agreed was not present in this case.

“I predicted manslaughter, so I’m a little surprised,” said Michael Seigel, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Florida. “But she has more facts than I do.”

O’Mara, Zimmerman’s attorney, said his client would plead not guilty and invoke Florida’s so-called “stand your ground” law, which gives people wide latitude to use deadly force rather than retreat during a fight.

The confrontation took place in a gated community where Martin was staying with his father and his father’s fiancée. Martin was walking back in the rain from a convenience store when Zimmerman spotted him and called 911. He followed the teenager despite being told not to by a police dispatcher and the two got into a struggle.

Zimmerman told police Martin punched him in the nose, knocking him down, and then began banging the volunteer’s head on the sidewalk. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in fear for his life. Sanford police took Zimmerman, whose father is white and whose mother is Hispanic, into custody the night of the shooting but released him without charging him.

A judge could dismiss the charge based on the “stand your ground” law, legal experts said. But some experts say the judge will also be under tremendous pressure to let the case go forward.

“Judges are not likely to take that out of the hands of the jury,” said Florida defense attorney Randy Reep.

Other attorneys weren’t surprised that Corey went for the maximum.

“Prosecutors look for leverage. They’ll typically overcharge knowing that gives them wiggle room for plea discussions,” said Derek Byrd, incoming president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “She knows that she could offer him manslaughter at some point or get in front of a jury that could split the verdict and agree on a lesser offense.”

Corey wouldn’t discuss how she arrived at the charges or disclose other details of her investigation. The prosecutor in Jacksonville was appointed to handle the case by Republican Gov. Rick Scott after the local prosecutor disqualified himself.

The U.S. Justice Department’s civil rights division is conducting its own civil rights investigation.

Tensions had risen in Sanford, a town of 50,000 outside Orlando. Someone shot up an unoccupied police car Tuesday outside the neighborhood where Martin was killed. Outside of Sanford City Hall on Wednesday, Stacy Davis, who is black, said the arrest “is not a black or white thing for me. It’s a right or wrong thing.”

In Washington, Martin’s family pleaded for calm in response to the decision. But Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, clasped hands and smiled in relief when she heard Corey utter the words “second-degree murder” on television.

“We wanted an arrest and we got it,” Fulton said later. “Thank you Lord, Thank you, Jesus.”

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Bluestein reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Suzanne Gamboa in Washington, Gary Fineout in Jacksonville, Fla.; Mike Schneider in Orlando, Fla.; Curt Anderson in Miami, Kyle Hightower in Sanford, Fla.; and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Fla.; also contributed to this article.

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Follow Greg Bluestein on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/bluestein . Follow Tamara Lush at http://twitter.com/tamaralush .