Jeff Pearlman on Walter Payton

Brilliant!

 

I might also make it a Choose Your Own Adventure.

If you want to consult the binder, see that Cory Wade struck out Jose Bautista in his only appearance against him in 2009, and decide to pull Ivan Nova in the seventh inning of a perfect game, turn to page 47/

If you declare that you need defense out of your catcher and decide to pencil Jeff Mathis into the lineup for the 27th straight game, turn to page 17/

 

But was he wearing his Kangol hat?

 

So I was invited tonight to post here ... here I am.

Not sure what to say. I write biographies because I love researching people's lives and finding out who they were; what made them tick; etc. Before this project, I knew almost nothing about Payton. Great running back, prankster ... that's it.

I spent 2 1/2 years on this project. Interviewed nearly 700 people. The goal was anything but to write a negative portrait and—if you read THE WHOLE BOOK—I think you'll see. I devoted waaaay more time to Columbia, Mississippi and Jackson State than to the so-called controversial stuff. But, as some people mentioned here, the chosen excerpt (not my decision) was depression and women. I understood.

But here's the question: What would you do? You're writing a detailed, definitive biography of an iconic figure in American sports. You learn that, at the Hall of Fame ... on the supposedly biggest day of his life, he's freaking out because his wife and girlfriend are sitting in the same proximity. Or you learn he threatened to commit suicide. Or you learn that, post-retirement, he took meds to numb all the pain. Do you not write it? Literally, do you ignore it and move on?

I didn't—and wouldn't.

And here's the truth: This hurts me. I'm always conflicted, and pained, by this. I'm well aware of the consequences ... people will be dismayed and angry and sad. He has kids. Siblings. A mother. But I only see one alternative, and that's to never write a definitive biography ... of anyone. Keep everything positive and chipper and, often, fictional.

I assure y'all—I do this because I love writing and researching. Love it, love it, love it. When people say, "He's out for the quick buck" or "He loves stomping on a grave," it eats me up. It shouldn't, but it does. I love Walter Payton. Really love the man ... much more than I ever did before this project.

Thanks for listening.

PS: The hat was lost years ago.

 

You are the bomb just for coming here and posting.

What an awesome place.

 

So LTL, if you were researching a beloved athlete for a book, and found out from multiple on-the-record sources that he was an adulterer or used drugs, would you just gloss over and write about the good parts of his life?

 

thanks for posting.

 

I don't really have much more to add to what I've already said. And since the rest of you have moved on to a discussion of the book itself, I don't really want to get in the way of that. But since I'm being called on in class, I do feel the need to reiterate: It's a very generous outlook toward the writer to think that's how it happened. Based on the previous books he has chosen to write, it is equally reasonable to conclude that this is the kind of stuff he goes looking for.

Obviously I'm in the small minority on this, maybe alone even ... so don't let me slow down the discussion.

 

The books that you didn't read?

 

I guess I just don't get the, "books he has chosen to write" part.

People that live boring lives aren't great subjects for biographies.

Pearlman has chosen interesting and complex people to write about. And, he's written full biographies. I don't get the sense that he was looking to pump out a scandalous quickie to capitalize on someone's fame.

 

Yea Jeff is not Joe McGinniss

 

Exactly. The whole point of that book was to dig up dirt.

"So you never had the feeling she felt bad about having sex with a black guy?"

Yeah, that's an agenda.

Pearlman likes Payton. He went where the story took him.