Without Helmets Or Shoulder Pads: The American Way Of Death In Football Conditioning,New

Footballs massive popularity is undeniable, as are the many reasons players and fans are drawn to the game. But what is also undeniable is the games brutality and the troubling aspects of football culture at all levels. To whatever extent the reader shares Irv Muchnicks perspective and conclusions, the evidence and arguments he presents deserve thoughtful attention. Bob Costas, Emmy Awardwinning sportscasterMuchnicks jeremiad digs deeper than ever into the greed and hypocrisy of high school and college football, and the trail of broken bodies left in their wake. His information on the perils of conditioning is essential reading and might save your kids life. Robert Lipsyte, author of The Contender and SportsWorldFootballs concussion crisis is well known, with our Hall of Fame heroes behaving erratically and dying young. But did you know that kid players across the continent die every year before a single ball is snapped just from extreme conditioning drills directed by allpowerful coaches? And then, when the unimaginable happens, the football world simply buries the evidence, pays off victims families, and moves on Without Helmets or Shoulder Pads presents the shocking stories of young men struck down by exertional heatstroke and other, often unacknowledged, causes. Taking the conversation about football and public health to a new level with investigations of the sports underreported worst tragedies and coverups it makes the case that no matter how much we enjoy Americas most popular sport at elite levels it belongs out of our public schools and off our public fields.