New Biography on Walter Payton = Absolute Filth

[IrishSteelhead]

Jeff Pearlman's book Sweetness reveals details on Walter Payton - NFL - SI.com


It makes me sick that no-name losers try to get rich off tarnishing a deceased person's good name.

This bio on Payton paints him in a very negative light. I don't care what's true and what isn't, who the heck is this guy to tell Walter's family, "Sorry, turns out your dad wasn't a hero after-all. He actually was very depressed, did painkillers, and cheated on Connie. All his best friends lied for over 40 years about how great of a person he was, and all the charity work he did was a sham to cover the fact that he was actually a really sad man. Thanks for buying my book."


Sorry, had to vent. WP is one of the finest human beings to ever live, and I get very upset when somebody tries to soil his proud legacy, especially if the motive is monetary gain.

 

[Buster Bluth]

WP is one of the finest human beings to ever live

I doubt it.

 

[ErieIrish13]

The truth hurts my man.

 

[TerryTate]

His daughter is very nice

 

[anarin]

I wasn't a fan of it after I read the article. I mean whats the point of going back on a persons life to talk about their addiction to pain pills and their extra-marital affairs?

Just another way to make a buck on a famous name.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

The truth hurts my man.

The thing is the "truth" has no real substance, and this guy waited for him to be dead for 12 years before bringing it out? Real tough guy.

The pain-meds (no big deal, every guy was/is on them) and the supposed adultery (character damaging, but not too bad) are fair game IMO, but the whole depression/suicide aspect is ridiculous. This author is a real jerk for going there IMO. And yes, WP is one of the finest humans to ever live.

 

[irishog77]

And yes, WP is one of the finest humans to ever live.

Mother Teresa, The Virgin Mary, John Paul II...and Walter Payton. Those 4 always make my list for the Mt Rushmore of finest humans to ever live.

From all accounts (other than this new one), Walter Payton seemed to have been a pretty good guy. But "one of the finest humans to ever live?" Let's not get too carried away with the hyperbole, steelhead.

 

[jason_h537]

Some of the greatest people in history were incredibly flawed.

 

[Irish Houstonian]

Only Caesar's wife is above reproach.

 

[peredonov]

Mother Teresa, The Virgin Mary, John Paul II...and Walter Payton. Those 4 always make my list for the Mt Rushmore of finest humans to ever live.

From all accounts (other than this new one), Walter Payton seemed to have been a pretty good guy. But "one of the finest humans to ever live?" Let's not get too carried away with the hyperbole, steelhead.

I'm sorry that you won't like my response, but I respect your right to hold your opinions. Your list: #1 Did very destructive things #2 Fictional #3 Same as the first #4 My favorite all-time football player after whom I modeled my game. But he's human after all.

 

[peredonov]

Jeff Pearlman's book Sweetness reveals details on Walter Payton - NFL - SI.com


It makes me sick that no-name losers try to get rich off tarnishing a deceased person's good name.

This bio on Payton paints him in a very negative light. I don't care what's true and what isn't, who the heck is this guy to tell Walter's family, "Sorry, turns out your dad wasn't a hero after-all. He actually was very depressed, did painkillers, and cheated on Connie. All his best friends lied for over 40 years about how great of a person he was, and all the charity work he did was a sham to cover the fact that he was actually a really sad man. Thanks for buying my book."


Sorry, had to vent. WP is one of the finest human beings to ever live, and I get very upset when somebody tries to soil his proud legacy, especially if the motive is monetary gain.

I understand your pain dude; In my family just saying his name evokes a certain reverence. However, I'd rather know that truth rather than continue to be fed lies.

 

[Endzone2]

You could certainly add Mohammad Ali & Martin Luther King Jr. to the list of those who had a social image and those that knew the real person. Well heck, come to think of it, you could probably add just about every pro football player and every pro basketball player. What they present on TV is an image about who these people really are. I remember pro baseball players saying that young people should not look up to them as role models because they aren't. In most cases, I'll bet that is true.

So you wanna go with the image or knowing the real person? Just the image when they are on the football field is easier. I'm certainly not saying that is true in every case.

 

[11cracker11]

I met his wife Connie and their children, Brittney and Jarrett, at a fundraiser for the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation, and that was last year when the Bears played the Buffalo Bills. That kind of contradicts the bad blood that the book attributes to his relationship with his wife Connie. He couldn't have been such an awful person/husband/father if those closest to him are still honoring him years after his death with such a worthwhile cause.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

I understand your pain dude; In my family just saying his name evokes a certain reverence. However, I'd rather know that truth rather than continue to be fed lies.

This whole idea brought on by the "Facebook Generation" that we need to know absolutely EVERY minute detail about a person's character wipes out so much good will and accomplishment though IMO. Humans always will make mistakes, but why publish a book celebrating it?

This isn't on par with, but comparable to history classes damning the founding fathers as nothing more than racist idiots because they owned slaves, and failing to acknowledge the good because there was bad.


*WP is obviously my favorite athlete of all-time, so I am unable to look at this objectively. I will blindly defend him as the epitome of class and grace until I die, much like delusional O$U fans go to bat for "St. Tressel" haha.

 

[phork]

I like beans.

 

[ndyeater]

very interested in reading this book just to see what the author has to say

 

[Rhode Irish]

Pearlman isn't a no-name. He is a good writer. Journalists have a responsibility to bring information to light. Sure, some smut-peddlers will say anything to sell copy, but Pearlman doesn't write for National Enquirer. The information he presents adds context to Peyton's image and legacy; it doesn't undermine it.

If your reverence for Peyton is undisturbed by Pearlman's reporting, that is certainly understandable. But you look foolish railing against a good reporter for doing his job, just because the information he has presented goes against what you want to believe about your hero.

 

[McMeanass]

Pearlman isn't a no-name. He is a good writer. Journalists have a responsibility to bring information to light. Sure, some smut-peddlers will say anything to sell copy, but Pearlman doesn't write for National Enquirer. The information he presents adds context to Peyton's image and legacy; it doesn't undermine it.

If your reverence for Peyton is undisturbed by Pearlman's reporting, that is certainly understandable. But you look foolish railing against a good reporter for doing his job, just because the information he has presented goes against what you want to believe about your hero.

A thousand times over. Pearlman is a very well respected writer who cares about his craft. His stated mission in writing this book was to write a (his words) "definitive" biography on a man he actually liked and respected, and still does even after uncovering some of the more unpleasant things about Walter Payton. He goes to great lengths to discuss how wonderful Walter was to his fans. It's far from a hit piece. Frankly, it's what a biography ought to be.

 

[ohara831]

All men are flawed. Doesn't mean he wasn't an overall good person who just made some mistakes.

But he is still the greatest football player I ever saw play the game. He was and always will be "Sweetness".

 

[BobD]

Althletes are just people. I feel what they do in their personal life is absolutely none of my business. My one and only expectation of Walter Payton was to play great football.......expectation fulfilled!

 

[IrishSteelhead]

A thousand times over. Pearlman is a very well respected writer who cares about his craft. His stated mission in writing this book was to write a (his words) "definitive" biography on a man he actually liked and respected, and still does even after uncovering some of the more unpleasant things about Walter Payton. He goes to great lengths to discuss how wonderful Walter was to his fans. It's far from a hit piece. Frankly, it's what a biography ought to be.

This makes me feel better. After a day to read more about the author and his intentions, I must say it was an overreaction on my part, and the ESPNs of the world for advertising the book as nothing more than a piece wanting to capitalize on the defamation of a dead man's legacy.

 

[Sweetness34]

Complete B.S. I don't care what the man did, he will always be seen as one of, if not the finest human being I have ever cheered for. I will not let this writer ruin my idea of Sweetness. There is no purpose for this book but to only ruin a good man's name and profit from it. Everyone knows how great of a man Sweetness was so the only new news is the supposed bad stuff.

 

[tankjeep]

i consider WP my hero. and unfortunately, a flawed person. but not one person here can stand up and cast the first stone......nobody.

i don't care what the book says. everybody has their problems and WP's no different.

the only concern i do have, was the man saved? and i'm not one to judge a person's spiritual condition, but i pray that he and everybody here is.

okay, i'm off my soap box.

 

[tankjeep]

Complete B.S. I don't care what the man did, he will always be seen as one of, if not the finest human being I have ever cheered for. I will not let this writer ruin my idea of Sweetness. There is no purpose for this book but to only ruin a good man's name and profit from it. Everyone knows how great of a man Sweetness was so the only new news is the supposed bad stuff.

exactly.

 

[kmoose]

Althletes are just people. I feel what they do in their personal life is absolutely none of my business.

You can make the choice not to buy, or read, the book, ya know?

 

[Endzone2]

Does Pearlman say at the end of the book if WP died and went to be with Jesus? WP like Herchel Walker, Randall Cunningham, etc., made no secret of the fact that they were Christians. I wonder what Pearlman has to say about that?

 

[Shamrocks and Shenanigans]

These stories have been around forever and someone has just put them in a book. Who cares, Greatest RB of all time in my opinion and I loved watching him play. Like it has been said already, everyone has their demons.

 

[Rhode Irish]

Does Pearlman say at the end of the book if WP died and went to be with Jesus? WP like Herchel Walker, Randall Cunningham, etc., made no secret of the fact that they were Christians. I wonder what Pearlman has to say about that?

Seems like that could be difficult to verify, and a good reporter won't report with corroboration.

 

[Endzone2]

Seems like that could be difficult to verify, and a good reporter won't report with corroboration.

Yes, I know it isn't verifiable, but it seemed to be the most important thing in WP's life. I'll judge Pearlman's trutfulness by how he handled this subject in the book. Did he try to belittle WP's faith in God, mock this aspect of his life with the expamples of some of the dark things in his life, or did he just avoid this aspect of his life altogether? That would tell us a lot about the book. If Pearlman just completely ignored this subject, he just completely ignored the most important thing in WP's life--or at least what we believe was the most important thing. Pearlman sucks as an author is that is what he did. That makes him no different than your typical ESPN broadcaster. This is what I want to know in a book about an athlete. How serious did he take his Christianity? You will never hear about it from the broadcast booth, and you wont hear about the dark side either--sports media wants to portray an image. But, I would certainly expect this subject to be covered rather extensively in a book about just one person.

 

[Endzone2]

These stories have been around forever and someone has just put them in a book. Who cares, Greatest RB of all time in my opinion and I loved watching him play. Like it has been said already, everyone has their demons.

Sorry, but I'll have to go with Barry Sanders on that one.