First published 2013
The National Football League declared in 2005 that professional players do not sustain frequent repetitive blows to the brain. This claim contradicted mounting scientific evidence and launched a campaign to suppress research linking football to brain damage. ESPN investigative reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru document how the NFL spent nearly two decades covering up connections between the sport and chronic brain disease. The league attacked independent scientists while promoting flawed research, echoing Big Tobacco's strategy against smoking studies. Players like Hall of Fame center Mike Webster and Junior Seau suffered devastating brain damage, with Webster becoming so disturbed he fantasized about shooting NFL executives. The authors reveal how the $10 billion industry used its power to hide that no padding could protect players from the force of modern football. Based on exclusive interviews, private emails, and undisclosed documents, this investigation exposes what the NFL knew about brain damage and when they knew it.
Genres: biography, sports, non-fiction, journalism, academic, american-history
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: corruption, cover-up, investigative-journalism
399 pages · Hardcover · Crown Archetype
Content warnings: medical-trauma