HBO's 'Real Sports' Tackles Off-Field NFL Issues in Latest Episode

by Milton Kent

Filed under: Sports Business and Media

Since most of the media lead-up to the Super Bowl is celebratory in nature, the new edition of HBO's "Real Sports" (Tuesday, 10 p.m. ET) provides a picture of the side of the game the NFL would prefer you ignore on the parade to the pomp and pageantry of next week.

Frank Deford contributes a sobering story on former NFL players who have exhausted their sizable football fortunes on poor investments, and multiple homes and cars, focusing on former Tampa Bay defensive end Chidi Ahanotu and former Detroit defensive tackle Luther Elliss. Elliss (pictured right) and his wife, Rebecca, are raising 11 children -- some of whom are adopted -- after losing most of his NFL money.

The most chilling piece is Bryant Gumbel's update of a story from eight years ago, during which he examined the trend of larger linemen in the league and the adverse effects of that additional weight after their playing days are over. Two of the linemen Gumbel talked with in 2003 are dead, and the piece reintroduces the viewer to former Dallas lineman Nate Newton, who has taken dramatic steps to shed pounds in an effort extend his life.

 

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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/01/25/hbos-real-sports-tackles-off-field-nfl-issues-in-latest-episo/

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