Learning from Other Writers: Mind Games: Football and Head Injuries

Instructor's Notes

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Mind Games: Football and Head Injuries

Frank Deford

Audio

Frank Deford has been a journalist at Sports Illustrated for over fifty years. Also a regular contributor to National Public Radio, Deford has been selected U.S. Sportswriter of the Year six times and earned an Emmy for his coverage of the Seoul Olympics in 1988. In this audio piece, which originally aired on Deford’s NPR segment Sweetness and Light, Deford explores our culpability in the intersection of football and head injuries. Click below to listen to the selection, and then respond to the questions that follow.

View transcript.

©2012 National Public Radio, Inc. Audio from news commentary by Frank Deford was originally broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition on May 9, 2012, and is used with permission of NPR. Any unauthorized duplication is strictly prohibited.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2012/05/09/152250525/mind-games-football-and-head-injuries

Questions to Start You Thinking

Meaning

  1. Why, according to Deford, are former NFL players suing the NFL?
  2. What does Deford say is the “larger truth so many of us are avoiding”?

    Writing Strategies

  3. Identify Deford’s thesis. When does it occur in the presentation? Why might he have chosen that strategy?
  4. Describe Deford’s tone of voice and speaking pattern. Is he an effective speaker? Why or why not?