Is There Life After Football? (43 page)

102
. LeGere, Bob. N.d. “An Inspiration: Bears Past, Present Acknowledge Payton's Legacy.
Dailyherald.com
.
https://prev.dailyherald.com/special/payton/payton31.htm
, retrieved 5/2/13. Also see Freeman 2003.

103
. See Eitzen 2009; Eitzen and Sage 2009; Messner, Michael. 1992.
Power at Play: Sports and the Problem of Masculinity
. Boston: Beacon; Messner, Michael. 2002.
Taking the Field: Women, Men, and Sports
. St. Paul: University of Minnesota Press; Messner, Michael. 2007.
Out of Play: Critical Essays on Gender and Sport
. Albany: State University of New York Press; Oriard 1993.

104
. S. Coakley 2006, pp. 107–8 (research interview).

105
. The notion of compulsory masculinity refers to the assumption that everyone is heterosexual. Assuming this as the norm, masculine identity is imposed by default. Sexuality and masculinity are thus conflated. See Rich, Adrienne. 1980. “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Experience.”
Signs
5(4): 631–60. Recently, challenges to these assumptions have surfaced around the NFL. Commentary from insiders and gay former players is skeptical, even as many remain hopeful. See Freeman 2003; Freeman,
Mike. November 6, 2013. “Ten Point Stance.”
Bleacherreport.com
.
http://bleacher-report.com/articles/1838030-ten-point-stance-mike-freemans-nfl-notebook-heading-into-week-10
, retrieved 11/10/13; Tuaolo 2006; “Gay NFL Players.” N.d.
Huffingtonpost.com
.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/gay-nfl-players
, retrieved 4/15/14.

106
. Feinstein 2005, p. 252.

107
. Freeman 2003, p. xix.

108
. Anderson 1999.

109
. Research interview #302.

110
. See Eisen 2007, Oriard 2007, O'Toole 2006.

111
.
Broke
.

112
. Of course, livin' large has historical and generational parameters. In the beginning, NFL players had neither the opportunity nor the resources to pursue the kind of decadence seen today. By the 1970s, the Oakland Raiders had raised livin' large to high art, but within the financial means of the time. Carousing and iconoclastic behavior were their “badass” calling cards (see Richmond 2010). By the 1990s, NFL salaries allowed for the kind of “stunting” and monetary madness that came to embody the contemporary version of livin' large.

113
.
Mike and Mike
. February 5, 2013. ESPN2-TV.

114
. Research interview #20.

115
. For example, Packer Max McGee's shenanigans and humorous defiance of Vince Lombardi's locker room authority made him a folk hero around the NFL. See Taylor 2010. Taking locker room culture into the outside world in the “off hours” is a mark of livin' large.

116
. See Oriard 1982.

117
. O'Toole 2006, p. 128.

118
. Research interview #22.

119
. Lapchick, Richard. October 22, 2013. “The Racial and Gender Report Card: National Football League.”
Tidesport.org
.
http://www.tidesport.org/RGRC/2013/2013_NFL_RGRC.pdf
, retrieved 4/15/14 (hereafter Racial Report Card). Quite remarkably, in light of the changing demographics of the U.S. and of other major professional sports, less than two percent of NFL players are Latino or Asian American, and just over one percent are “international.”

120
. See Oriard 2007.

121
. Ibid.

122
.
Mike and Mike
. November 5, 2013. ESPN2-TV.

123
. Research interview #05.

124
. The Racial Report Card indicates that the practice of “stacking” African Americans at particular positions by virtue of race is no longer an issue of concern. The physical demands of the various positions seem to dictate racial distributions more than discriminatory practices.

125
. Dunne, Tyler. November 29, 2011. “Lang Has Turned from Life of Party to All Business.”
JSOnline.com
.
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/wakeup-call-a838c6k-134726453.html
;
Dunne, Tyler. January 3, 2013. “Packers' Dietrich-Smith Has Life in Order.”
JSOnline.com
.
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/packers-dietrichsmith-has-life-in-order-pv887oa-185622911.html
; both retrieved 11/3/13.

126
. Research interview #305. Also see Feinstein 2005; Freeman, Mike. February 2, 1999. “Robinson's Arrest Looms Large after the Falcons Defeat.”
NYTimes.com
.
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/02/sports/super-bowl-xxxiii-robinson-s-arrest-looms-larger-after-the-falcons-defeat.html
, retrieved 1/13/13.

127
. See Eitzen 2009.

128
. Oriard 1982, p. 25.

129
. Coser, Lewis. 1974.
Greedy Institutions
. New York: Free Press.

130
. See Adler and Adler 1991 for a discussion of other ways that organizations extract intense commitment and loyalty from their members.

1
. Research interview #42.

2
.
The Late Show
. January 7, 2013.
CBS.com
.
http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/video/13E4461C-8715-459E-857B-18C29863F193/the-late-show-1-7-2013
, retrieved 3/17/13.

3
. Material and quotations from this section on Koonce's retirement come from research interviews #40, 42, and 50.

4
. Jerry Glanville, former coach of the Houston Oilers, is credited with coining the phrase during a 1988 discussion with a game official: “This is the N-F-L, which stands for ‘not for long' when you make them fuckin' calls. I'll be selling groceries.” The use of the phrase has morphed into commentary on the fleeting nature of an NFL career for players and coaches alike. See
Pick Six
: “Glanville: NFL Means ‘Not for Long.'” August 5, 2011.
NFL.com
.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/09000d5d8213b6cb/Pick-Six-Glanville-NFL-means-Not-For-Long
, retrieved 6/19/13.

5
. Research interview #30.

6
. As decisive as Chapman's retirement seems, however, note that it came well after he had been released and was technically out of the game—but not necessarily of his own accord.

7
. Ellerson, Gary. May 16, 2012. “Life after Football.”
SportsRadio1250.com
.
http://www.sportsradio1250.com/Gary-Ellerson/11779164
, retrieved 8/16/13.

8
. Weir, David R., James S. Jackson, and Amanda Sonnega. 2009. “Study of Retired NFL Players.” Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (hereafter Player Care study; see
http://www.ns.umich.edu/Releases/2009/Sep09/FinalReport.pdf
, retrieved 7/7/13).

9
. O'Toole, 2006, p. 92.

10
. See Feinstein 2005.

11
. Ibid., p. 218.

12
. Lane, Austen. N.d. “What's It Like to Get Whacked?”
SI.com
.
http://mmqb.si.com/2013/07/25/what-its-like-to-get-whacked/?sct=hp_t11_a0&eref=sihp
, retrieved 7/25/13.

13
. See S. Coakley 2006, who similarly observes that uncertainty, fueled by hope and optimism, produces a cognitive unwillingness or unpreparedness to move on.

14
. See Coakley, Jay J. 1983. “Leaving Competitive Sport: Retirement or Rebirth?”
Quest
35: 1–11.

15
.
Mike and Mike
. September 26, 2013. ESPN2-TV.

16
. Research interview #17.

17
. Research interview #60.

18
. Player Care study.

19
. See Berns, Nancy. 2011.
Closure: The Rush to End Grief and What It Costs Us
. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, for a discussion of how “closure talk” is used to manage the meaning of loss. Also see O'Toole 2006. O'Toole's discussion underscores the degree to which retirement is seldom voluntary and, from wives' vantage point, not really retirement at all.

20
. See Sacks, Harvey. 1992.
Lectures on Conversation, Volumes 1 and 2
. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, on membership categorization and the formulation of meaning.

21
. See Adler and Adler 1991; Ebaugh, H.R.F. 1988.
Becoming an Ex: The Process of Role Exit
. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

22
. See Ebaugh 1988.

23
. Ibid., p. 138.

24
. Ibid., p. 142.

25
. Research interview #50.

26
. See J. Coakley 1983; Greendorfer, Susan L., and Elaine M. Blinde. 1985. “Retirement from Intercollegiate Sport: Theoretical and Empirical Considerations.”
Sociology of Sport Journal
2: 101–10.

27
. McPherson, B.D. 1980. “Retirement from Professional Sport: The Process and Problems of Occupational and Psychological Adjustment.”
Sociological Symposium
30: 126–33; Sinclair, D.A., and Orlick, T. 1993. “Positive Transitions from High-Performance Sport.”
Sport Psychologist
7: 138–50; Swain, D.A. 1991. “Withdrawal from Sport and Schlossberg's Model of Transitions.”
Sociology of Sport Journal
8: 152–60; Taylor, J., and B.C. Ogilvie. 1998. “Career Transitions among Elite Athletes: Is There Life after Sports,” pp. 647–62, in Williams, J.M. (ed.). 2000.
Applied Sport Psychology: Personal Growth to Peak Performance
, 4th ed. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield; Torregrosa, M., M. Boixados, L. Valiente, and J. Cruz. 2004. “Elite Athletes Image of Retirement: The Way to Relocation in Sport.”
Psychology of Sport and Exercise
5: 35–43.

28
. Gallmeier, Charles. 1987. “Dinosaurs and Prospects: Toward a Sociology of the Compressed Career,” pp. 98–106, in Mamoudi, K.M., B. Parlin, and M. Zussman (eds.).
Sociological Inquiry: A Humanistic Perspective
, 4th ed. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt; Taylor, J., and B.C. Ogilvie. 1994. “A Conceptual Model of Adaptation to
Retirement among Athletes.”
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology
6:1–20; Sinclair and Orlick 1993.

29
. Lavallee, D., and P. Wylleman. 2000.
Career Transitions in Sport: International Perspectives
. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.

30
. Taylor and Ogilvie 1998.

31
. Lavallee and Wylleman 2000; Torregrosa et al. 2004; Webb, W.M., S.A. Nasco, S. Riley, and B. Headrick. 1995. “Athlete Identity and Reactions to Retirement from Sports.”
Journal of Sport Behavior
21: 338–62.

32
. McPherson 1980, Taylor and Ogilvie 1994, Webb et al. 1995.

33
. Adler and Adler 1991, McPherson 1980, Sinclair and Orlick 1993, Webb et al. 1995. For contrast, see also Greendorfer and Blinde 1985.

34
. See J. Coakley 1983.

35
. See, for example, Herman Edwards on
Mike and Mike
. January 25, 2013. ESPN2-TV.

36
. “NFL's Sign-and-Retire Club.” N.d.
SI.com
.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1007/nfl.sign.and.retire.one-day.contracts/content.1.html
, retrieved 7/5/13.

37
. Katzowitz, Josh. May 30, 2012. “Kordell Stewart Gets His Closure, Officially Retires from Football.”
CBSSports.com
.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/19205582/kordell-stewart-gets-his-closure-officially-retires-from-football
, retrieved 7/5/13.

38
. “NFL's Sign-and-Retire Club,” n.d.

39
. Research interview #40.

40
. Research interview #03.

41
. Research interview #17.

42
. Chadiha, May 31, 2012

43
. Roberts, Jeff. May 2, 2013. “NFL Retirement101: Former Giant Learns to Move On.”
NorthJersey.com
.
http://www.northjersey.com/sports/205723211_NFL_Retirement_101.html?page=all
, retrieved 7/1/13.

44
. Youngblood, Kent. August 24, 2012. “Tackling the Post-Football Void.”
Star-Tribune.com
.
http://www.startribune.com/printarticle/?id=167393215
, retrieved 12/31/12.

45
. See Messner 1992.

46
. Research interview #42.

47
. Chadiha, May 31, 2012.

48
. S. Coakley 2006, p. 91 (research interview).

49
. Ibid., p. 92.

50
. Ibid.

51
. Research interview #24.

52
. Ibid.

53
. Research interview #60.

54
. J. Coakley 1983.

55
. Ibid. Also see Taylor and Ogilvie 1994; Taylor and Ogilvie 1998; Taylor, J., and B.C. Ogilvie. 2001. “Career Termination among Athletes,” pp. 187–99, in Singer, R.N., H.A. Hausenblas, and C.M. Janelle (eds.).
Handbook of Sport Psychology
. New York: John Wiley.

56
. S. Coakley 2006, p. 94 (research interview).

57
. Ibid., p. 91.

58
. Research interview #28.

59
. Eisen 2007, p. 241. Also see Bernstein 2009 for Ahmad Rashad's account of his “perfect exit.”

60
. Dunne, Tyler. June 16, 2013. “Donald Driver Showered by Love form Loyal Supporters at Softball Game”
JSOnline
.
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/donald-driver-showered-by-love-from-loyal-supporters-at-softball-game-b9934975z1-211767161.html
, retrieved 6/17/13.