League of Denial
The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth
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League of Denial
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Narrated by:
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David H. Lawrence XVII
About this listen
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “meticulously documented and endlessly chilling” (The New York Times) exploration of the NFL’s decades-long attempt to deny and cover up mounting evidence connecting football and brain damage.
“A first-rate piece of reporting [that] adds crucial detail, texture, and news to the concussion story, which despite the NFL’s best efforts, isn’t going away.”—Time
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Boston Globe, NPR
“Professional football players do not sustain frequent repetitive blows to the brain on a regular basis.” So concluded the National Football League in a December 2005 scientific paper on concussions in America’s most popular sport. That judgment, implausible even to a casual fan, also contradicted the opinion of a growing cadre of neuroscientists who worked in vain to convince the NFL that it was facing a deadly new scourge: chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a chronic brain disease that was driving an alarming number of players—including some of the all-time greats—to madness.
Everyone knows that football is violent and dangerous. But what the players who built the NFL into a $10 billion industry didn’t know—and what the league sought to shield from them—is that no amount of padding could protect the human brain from the force generated by modern football.
In League of Denial, award-winning ESPN investigative reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru expose the public health crisis that emerged from the playing fields and examine how the league used its power and resources to attack independent scientists and elevate its own flawed research—a campaign with echoes of Big Tobacco’s fight to deny the connection between smoking and lung cancer. They chronicle the tragic fates of players like Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster, who was so disturbed at the time of his death he fantasized about shooting NFL executives, and former San Diego Chargers great Junior Seau, whose diseased brain became the target of a scientific battle between researchers and the NFL.
Based on exclusive interviews, previously undisclosed documents, and private e-mails, League of Denial is the story of what the NFL knew and when it knew it—questions at the heart of a crisis that threatens American football—and of the battle for the sport’s future.
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Critic reviews
“Meticulously documented and endlessly chilling.” (The New York Times)
“The book should come with a warning label for football fans: Watching a game will never be the same after you read it. . . . [Fainaru-Wada and Fainaru] ask tough questions of the NFL without taking their conclu- sions too far.” (NPR)
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What listeners say about League of Denial
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
Another Organization Stone Walls
What did you love best about League of Denial?
How detailed the story was about the Shenanigans the NFL pulled. Just unscrupulous.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I liked the Nigerian Doctor who gave the NFL hell. He is different from the nice guy depicted in the movie, which is also excellent.
What does David H. Lawrence XVII bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Excellent narration. However, the book is also necessary. Just too many names and details to keep straight by simply listening to the audio or seeing the movie.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Oh noooooo! Impossible. Too complicated.
Any additional comments?
I am not a football fan to begin with. Now I am really not a fan.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Hoss
- 08-17-18
Heartbreaking
Expert storyteller, David H LawrenceXVII, delivers a heart ache presentation of our hero’s, typical big corporate cover up, and shattered players and families......couldn’t turn it off, sick that it’s still happening today.....
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- DPM
- 03-07-14
Overall, well worth the credit
I approached this book a bit different ( more knowledgeable) than most history books I order - that of being a trial lawyer for 30 years ( personal injury) in which cause of a medical condition ( including dementia-like conditions as causally linked to head trauma) was almost always the issue. It came as no surprise, therefore, to listen that CTE as linked to NFL play was hotly debated. BUT - although I did like the book; although the narration was excellent; and the authors did a very very good job in describing the players for us, their careers and the downturn some of them faced post NFL - their bias was a bit too pronounced. Not a lot, but not insignificant either. They implied throughout that those in favor of linking CTE to football were the good doctors, those which did not were the bad doctors. Listening with " a lawyers ear" ( and I acted for people against insurance companies throughout my career) I thought it was not as clear cut as the authors would have us believe, especially as the majority of NFL players do not develop these symptoms. I also agree with the first reviewer that it was difficult to keep track of which doctor, which opinion. That is not to say, however, that I did not like the audiobook. I did. It is worth the credit.. I found it very interesting, all parts, the whole discusson, especially, to repeat myself, when the player's lives were discussed. I will follow up and research further this topic CTE and the NFL ( starting with the show that " Frontline" did on the book, available via YouTube), which for me is a good sign the book is worth reading.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- bluestar
- 07-01-15
Very compelling
Loved the beginning Some of the stories are sad Some parts are repetitive Overall a great listen
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- K. Schoff
- 11-05-17
Fantastic, moving, eye opening. Great narration!
I never leave reviews but League of Denial was so well-written and compelling that I've been moved to review it in the hopes other people will also enjoy! Incredibly well-researched and put together in a compelling story. Your heart aches for Mike Webster and his family learning what they go through.
Great narration, David Lawrence does a great job with challenging medical material. Overall this book was a great listen- educational, moving, interesting and eye-opening. Highly recommend!
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- King Hap
- 02-02-16
Wow. Great book!!!
Great book for any NFL fan, or sports fan in general. Touchy topic and this book gets deep into detail. I would 100% recommend this book.
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-16-17
A Salient Topic in the Sports Safety Discussion
The history and controversy presented herein will present one of the greatest struggles of the future of sports medicine. This book conveys the intensity and drama surrounding the concussion issue in so many American sports. It poses important questions and provides riveting history and information around the concussion culture. this is a must-read for anyone involved in the world of contact (collision) sports.
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- jonathan meharg
- 02-11-18
Shocking
This book starts with the story of Mike Webster. Any big football fan will know his sad story but the book goes into more detail and just breaks your heart for his family. I never thought I'd look at the NFL like I do the tobbacoo companies but if you read this book. Imsure you will also.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- s.
- 01-25-14
Fascinating and engaging look at lives sacrificed
What made the experience of listening to League of Denial the most enjoyable?
Fascinating journalistic inquiry into role of concussions and culpability of NFL. Starts with Pittsburgh Steeler's center Mike Webster in early 80s and brings us up to current day [$345 million settlement was announced as this book was being published so discussion around that is included, too]. Maybe it's because I'm from Pittsburgh, but knowing many of the professional football players they documented in this book--as well as the many Pittsburgh places and people-- made it a quick read.
Any additional comments?
Not 100% unbiased. Focus is solely on head trauma as initial indicator of later chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Authors don't really ask any of the number of neurosurgeons and neuropathologists they interviewed about role of drug abuse like steroids, performance-enhancing drugs and/or alcohol abuse on prevalence of or likelihood for CTE--but maybe that's a different book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steph
- 05-17-17
Blown Away
One of the best books I've ever read; I truly cannot recommend it enough. At times I was angry at the injustice of it all. Other times I just felt a deep sadness for the players, most of which I recognized by name. I cannot believe what many of these players went through, in games as well as later in life.
I don't want to give too much away, but you have corruption, sabotage, betrayal, people switching sides, and at the heart of it all this game and league that many of us love so much. As someone who has been a fan my whole life--I'm talking watching every televised game, playing multiple leagues of Fantasy football for years type of fan--I feel absolutely disgusted by some of the actions the NFL took to deny the problems the game was causing to some of its greatest players. It almost makes my skin crawl.
I don't know where I go from here. I will never look at the NFL the same. The most apt comparison to their conduct is the concerted effort the Tobacco industry undertook to deny the risks of smoking. They cover that in the book; there may be more than just a general similarity that connects the two...
The narrator was perfect. Like a great offensive lineman--I guess I can't use that analogy anymore...--he was so good you almost didn't notice him at all. It just worked. He had a firm, medium voice, a mostly even pace, and he knew when to be dramatic without ever being melodramatic.
Well done all around. I guess I have to go read up on the rules of soccer, or as I'll have to learn to call it: football.
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