Bloody Sundays: Inside the Rough-And-Tumble World of the NFL Paperback - 2004

An honest, uncensored look at the National Football League that captures the good, the bad, and the bloody. Award-winning sports reporter Michael Freeman goes were few civilians dare: inside the locker rooms, boardrooms, and everywhere in-between to offer an entertaining and provocative portrait of the National Football League.

In Bloody Sundays he dissects the NFL, spotlighting the personalities and the politics that shape the game on and off the field, exploring how the game has influenced American life and culture, and identifying the issues and challenges facing the game today--from violence on the field to the maniacal coaching methods of Super Bowl winner Jon Gruden, to physical injury and longevity, to race and labor relations. Here, too, are the legends, heroes, and plays that make the game what it is, including a groundbreaking exclusive interview with an active gay player.

Part investigative journalism, part critical analysis, and part tribute, Bloody Sundays uniquely captures the entirety of the league in all its greatness and ugliness.

Freeman's unprecedented access reveals the hidden truths of America's biggest sport:

• Locker Room Culture: A groundbreaking, exclusive interview with "Steven Thompson," the first active player to discuss his life as a gay man in the hyper-macho world of professional football.
• NFL Coaches: A profile of Jon Gruden, the obsessive, sleep-deprived "Coach Chucky" whose intensity defines the relentless pressure of the modern head coaching job.
• Behind the Scenes of the NFL: Go beyond the highlights to see how the league really works--from the politics of the boardroom to the blue-collar factory where every NFL football is made by hand.
• The Toll of Violence: An unflinching look at the physical cost of the game, from career-ending injuries and concussion studies to the crippled and demoralized state of many former players.