So my interview today, my guest today is D'Amour Smith.

He is the former executive director of the NFLPA.

And D, before I get to you, I've got a quick little sort of segue here, an explanation.

As many as some of you know, I've been a political journalist for most of my professional life.

For a couple of years, I was the founding managing editor of something that is known today as the

Sports Business Journal.

Back then, it was called the Sports Business Daily.

Founded in 1994 in the middle of all this labor strife.

And I remember back then, one of the most important books I read to sort of ground me in understanding

the business of sports was a book called Lords of the Realm.

It was by John Hellyer, a Wall Street Journal reporter, and it was just incredible history

of the business of baseball, both in the early days of baseball, as well as in the near term.

And I always lamented that there wasn't something about the business of the NFL that had

that same sort of depth and information to it.

Until I read your book, D, Turf Wars, it's certainly a tough book.

It is certainly one that you don't pull any punches.

But I also think, you know, my son who's going to be majoring, is majoring in sports

management in college right now.

I think this is a book that every sports management and sports marketing professor

should assign it as reading.

I mean, you know, look, there's personality stuff in here, and that's, that happens in

any book.

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