Throwaway Players: Concussion Crisis From Pee Wee Football to the NFL

by Gay Culverhouse

The NFL insists players know they're playing a dangerous game, but players never see the deteriorated mental capacities of their former heroes. Throwaway Players is former Tampa Bay Buccaneers president Gay Culverhouse’s story of the broken bodies and lost souls of the men who have left the locker room and what remains after the cheering subsides. Focused on making money rather than the well-being of their players, this is the dark side of football the NFL doesn't want fans to see.

Additionally, high schools, colleges, and independent sports organizations have little oversight when choosing player’s equipment. This breeds a new generation of kids suffering from multiple concussions and damaged lives. Throwaway Players offers guidance to parents navigating the world of competitive sports as well as advocacy and resources for athletes often left in the dark about appropriate procedures for treating injuries, especially head traumas, specifically brain injury. Throwaway Players is essential reading for any parent, athlete, and sports fan.

Gay Culverhouse testified before Congress on football head injuries and successfully changed the policy of including an independent neurologist on the sidelines of every NFL game. Gay's work with former players has appeared in The New York Times, Sarasota Herald Tribune, St. Petersburg Times, The Tampa Tribune, Time magazine, and many more. She has appeared on several radio shows, including PBS and ESPN, and is featured in three documentaries that are in post-production (with CNN, ESPN, and an independent filmmaker). In November 2009 Gay formed The Gay Culverhouse Players’ Outreach Program, Inc., a nonprofit organization to further the work nationally for retired players.

Genres: Nonfiction

250 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2011

Reviews

[Tyler m. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book Throwaway Players: Concussion Crisis From Pee Wee Football to the NFL by Gay Culverhouse. Who is a former NFL team owner and witnessed the Concussion academic first hand and saw what effect they had on the players and how the NFL does not help these players that have retired. Sport is one of my favorite thing to pay attention to and sport related books grab my interest a lot and that is why I picked this book. The book is about how today's football is more violent then ever before. How players are on these drugs to try to help them with there pain like steroids but when they need to stop the can’t This book also talks about how ex NFL players are killing them self and there families because they can’t readjust to normal life after the NFL. This book also talks about how the NFL does not help out the players with long term disabilities like they say they do once you retire you are gone forever and they don’t help you after that like they say they do. A lot of NFL players when they are done playing football they need to find other jobs but there injuries or they just can’t find work this book talks about that as well. The author also talks about what we can do to stop concussions like if high school have a neurologist on the side lines or buy some new equipment. He also says how if we don’t get a hand on this we are going to see many more career ending injuries.

I thought that Gay did a great job and the book was filled with info
I never knew before because he don’t see it on SportCenter or any where. When I read this book I felt like Gay was in front of me talking to me about this idea. Also when I read this book it made me want to go and try to fight for the rights of the players and the equipment we should have. After I suffered from a concussion myself I wish I would have read this book sooner so I wouldn’t have rushed getting cleared from it,the book taught me what can happen long term from a concussion. The book also taught me how careless and heartless the NFL is to players how they don’t care about anybody as long as they make there money they are good. Which I did not know before I read this book I always thought and still think that the NFL would care more about the players because they are the ones who make the money for the company. I think who ever is reading this review should pick up this book and read it it does not mater if you like sports or not. You can still find something about this book that you will like and there will be something you learn. Now people reading this review may say oh this book is just a sports but it is not like I said in my other sentence. I know this is a old cliché someone reading this learns one thing and save someones life his goal came true I know that is old but it is true for this book.

I give this book a 5 out of 5. I gave this book a five because it is so well written and it really moves you. I get a personal connection to this book so that really makes me get in to this book and makes me not want to put it down. I will talk about this book forever and the book gave me a lot of background info on my sport that I play and how to help myself keep myself safe. This book was a fun and enjoyable and very informational book. I suggest you should go and get a copy of the book today.

[Ian Wojcik · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read, Throwaway Players, is a nonfiction book about the recent concussion crisis in the National Football League. The author is Gay Culverhouse who is a former team owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When she was the owner, she witnessed her players endure numerous blows to the heads. At the time she was in charge, concussions were not a big deal in the NFL but she knew something was wrong. Players she had made meaningful relationships with we're changing in front of her eyes. She deciding something had to be done. The book is Gay recalling countless stories of her players suffering from injuries caused by concussions and the NFL's insurance refusing to pay for their medical bills. Gay spoke in front of congress and has reached out to other players in order to help them. She has done so much for hundreds if not thousands of former players.
I liked it because the problems of concussions in football is a hot topic right now and I liked to see a different side of the story. A side you never hear about. It talks about what really happens after an average player exits the league with a career ending injury. There were some grammatical errors here and there but what I did not like was how most of the stories were very similar. A great read for anyone who likes football and nonfiction like me.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throwaway Players is a good book which i enjoyed reading about. It opened my eyes about the dangers of the sport and injuries as well as learning about the various aspects of sports medicine. I heard about this book through HOSA, and I couldn't have loved it more. This book deserves four stars.

[Kelly Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 80%

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book opened my eyes to the dangers of football and playing through injury!