I have a solution!
I deleted all the folders related to VMware Player. In my User folders and in All Users (Public). Then I deleted all the temp files used by vmware player.
I ran the installer for vmware player 3.14 (the original install) and chose 'uninstall'. It went through the uninstall without any problem or error. After, it asked for a restart which I did.
Then I ran the installer for 5.02 and it installed without issue or error. It never asked for a restart.
The only thing I noticed was that when I ran VMware Player it took a long time to start (maybe 2-3 minutes). So I did a restart and then it was fine, starting quickly and loading a vm as fast as before.