Throwaway Players: The Concussion Crisis From Pee Wee Football to the NFL by Gay Culverhouse
Trade Paperback	5 ½ x 8 ½	Non-fiction/memoir
Release date: September 2011	$15.95	ISBN: 978-1-933016-70-2

As the former president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and daughter of their owner, Gay Culverhouse was the woman in the men's locker room. Twenty years later, she is trying to keep her former players out of the emergency room.

THROWAWAY PLAYERS uncovers the grim reaper of football. Although the National Football League will preach that players know they are playing a dangerous game, players are never shown the crippled bodies and deteriorated mental capacities of their former heroes. These players are never feted. Being bankrupt and homeless and suicidal are not the futures the current players, their parents or fans consider.

This is the story of the broken bodies and lost souls of the men who have permanently left the locker room. This is what remains after the cheering subsides. This is what the National Football League does not want you to see.

But the story doesn't stop there. High schools, colleges, and independent sports organizations, to date, have no oversight when choosing equipment for their players. This has bred a new generation of kids suffering from multiple concussions and damaged lives.

Gay Culverhouse took on the NFL, Congress, and is taking up the fight for America's youth to ensure that no one should be "dying" to play sports.

Reviews and Accolades

Throwaway Players is an important and timely book by a woman with the courage to speak truth to power, and with a burning passion to make a difference in the lives of football players everywhere. Its breezy, conversational style makes it an easy read, but one deserving the attention of every football parent, coach, and player. Read the full interview here
~ Brooke de Lench - Mom'sTeam

Read an in-depth inteview with Gay Culverhouse here.

About the Author

Professional football has been in Gay Culverhouse's family since 1974 when her father was awarded the Tampa Bay franchise. From that point on, football dominated her life in many ways. From 1984 until her father's death (1994), Gay worked in the front office of the team; for the last three years she was the president of the team. During those years, Gay was the highest ranking woman in the National Football League.

For ten years she was the face of the Buccaneers, holding the management press conferences, running the business of football, and attending owners' and management meetings at the league level. She was an "insider."

When Gay addressed the House Judiciary Committee on "Legal Issues Relating to Football Head Injuries" on October 28, 2009, she broke ranks with the National Football League, even though she was seated at a table in front of the judicial committee with Roger Goodell, the current commissioner of the NFL and DeMaurice Smith, the players' union executive director, along with several males.

Once again, Gay was the lone woman in the National Football League's world as she told the committee about the importance of having an independent neurologist on the sidelines of every NFL game to evaluate head injuries. On November 23, 2009, the NFL announced a plan to provide independent neurologists on game day.

There have been several articles written about Gay and her former players appearing in the New York Times, the Sarasota Herald Tribune, The St. Petersburg Times, The Tampa Tribune, Time Magazine and many more. She has also appeared on several radio shows including PBS and ESPN. Three documentaries have completed filming and are in post-production (CNN, ESPN, an independent film maker) on her work.

In November, 2009, Gay formed a non-profit organization to further the work nationally for retired players: The Gay Culverhouse Players' Outreach Program, Inc. (www.playersoutreach.org). Gay's foundation's goal is to provide information and assistance, at no cost, to former National Football League players and their families regarding the benefits to which they are entitled.