Jeff Pearlman on Walter Payton

I'm not taking issue with the content of the book, only with the way it's being promoted, if in fact the overall focus of the book is NOT intended to be salacious and negative.

Because no matter what's in that book, even of 99% of it is glowing and glorious, all people will remember is, "that book about Walter screwing around."

 

It's the details. Tiger Woods had affairs. Not shocking. Tiger Woods porked a Perkins waitress in a church parking lot. Shocking.

I don't think too many people will be shaken to their core regarding the general Payton revelations.

 

If this doesn't stir your journalistic juices, nothing will:

Pearlman said he interviewed 678 people for the book, which he worked on for 2 ½ years.

 

Because sports journalism in every city is all about NOT writing what you know about athletes, coaches and executives?

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/nfl/09/28/pearlman.qanda/index.html

SI.com: You've also written works on Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. How did this experience compare?

Pearlman: I thought Bonds was an unambiguously bad guy. I still do. I had to beg people to say something good about him. I just didn't find Roger Clemens introspective. I didn't find him that likable. Payton's the opposite. He was beloved, and rightfully so. He was amazing with fans. He went out of his way to meet their expectations.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/nfl/09/28/pearlman.qanda/index.html#ixzz1ZHr1b8vk

 

Yeah, but he has only 37 posts in 4 years here:

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/members/8153/

 

I didn't read this as a smear job. I found it quite interesting. I didn't know much about him, and the story was well told. Not understanding the animosity here.

 

If you don't want someone to publish/write something, you know what that's called right? Censorship.

Why is it that anyone gets to decide what anyone else has the opportunity to read? Why not let them decide for themselves whether its worth reading or not?

 

So from reading this thread I take it that this book will be as important as All the President's Men and Pearlman is as good a writer as Shakespeare.

And that neither Walter nor Gary Payton had sex with Sarah Palin.

 

Sean Payton got no Alaska-style lovin' either.

 

Has that been confirmed?

 

"Fan" probably isn't the right word. Respect is.

I wasn't a "fan" of Payton kicking the Packers' asses back in the day. I did respect the hell out of his game.

As for the bio, I don't know, doing whippets and fucking around isn't that salacious to me.

Now if it said that someone else did his Super Bowl Shuffle solo? THAT would be salacious!