Turf Wars: The Fight for the Soul of America’s Game

＂During his fourteen years as the head of the NFL Players Association, DeMaurice Smith was a front-line advocate for football players through some of the most tumultuous crises in NFL history: Colin Kaepernick’s protests, Deflategate, a lockout, two collective bargaining agreements, and more. But after witnessing the league’s troubling response to discrimination and racial unrest, both within the league and beyond, Smith realized it was time to pull back the curtain and speak truth to power. Drawing from his years of unprecedented access and ... knowledge of America’s favorite sport, Smith documents his years leading the NFLPA and explains how the NFL distorts the truth, telling partial stories to insulate itself and grow its ＄20-billion-a-year brand--and the players’ battles to protect themselves. From contract negotiations to battles over suspensions, Smith shows us how the union fought to protect players from the greed, racism, and dishonesty the league is built on. He also takes readers inside closed-door meetings and unreported conversations and confrontations with the industry’s most powerful figures such as Robert Kraft, Jerry Jones, Tom Brady, and Roger Goodell＂--

DeMaurice Smith is the former executive director of the National Football League Players Association. Prior to the NFLPA, Smith was an assistant United States attorney, counsel to the US deputy attorney general, and a partner in major law firms. Smith is currently a law and business professor in residence.