P.S. on Harvey Araton, New York Times, and Penn State Coverage
November 30, 2011There Was Just One Problem With the George Visger Ebook Announcement …
December 2, 2011
Further info: https://concussioninc.net
SACRAMENTO, December 2, 2011 – The Concussion Inc. imprint of ebooks has announced the signing of a new title by George Visger – the defensive tackle on the 1982 Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers whose National Football League career was cut short by a traumatic brain injury, but who has gone on to lead an inspiring life and spearhead advocacy of retired and disabled NFL players’ issues.
OUT OF MY HEAD: My Life In and Out of Football will be the third volume in the new series of ebook shorts published by author Irvin Muchnick through his website and blog at https://concussioninc.net. The Visger book will be released just prior to the Super Bowl on February 5.
During the 1981 season, Visger developed hydrocephalus (“water on the brain”) from numerous concussions and underwent his first ventriculoperitoneal shunt brain surgery in September. Then, four months after the 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals for their first of five NFL championships, Visger was stricken on vacation in Mexico and had two more brain operations and was given last rites. In the ensuing three decades, he has undergone a dozen additional surgeries in which, among other procedures, a shunt was implanted and maintained in his brain in order drain spinal fluid from his brain to his abdomen. One consequence of his condition became loss of short-term memory – to the point where Visger had to improvise relearning how to function by writing dozens of pages of notes to himself every day. Yet Visger has never received an NFL pension or disability benefit.
Despite his disability and the 49ers’ and league’s lack of support, Visger returned to school and completed a degree in biological conservation, and founded a company consulting on the environmental impact of construction projects.
Visger, who graduated from Stagg High School in Stockton, California, and played college football at the University of Colorado, was also one of the first, and remains one of the most effective, spokesmen for NFL retirees. He has testified before Congressional committees and contributed to Dave Pear’s Independent Football Veterans blog, and he is a named plaintiff in three of the five current mass- or class-action lawsuits against the league by ex-players.
“Concussion Inc. is proud to help bring George Visger’s unique story and voice to a wider audience,” Muchnick said. “This is an amazing tale of the triumph of the human spirit, as well as a sobering account of the callous practices of the football industry at all levels – a public health outrage about which, sadly, too many sports media and fans remain in denial.”
Muchnick said a further announcement of pricing and preorder information for OUT OF MY HEAD would be made before the holidays. The Visger book will be somewhat longer than the first two Concussion Inc. volumes and will be priced slightly higher.
The first Concussion Inc. ebook short, DUERSON, was published last month. The second, UPMC: Concussion Scandal Ground Zero, will be published later this month. Each sells for $1.49, or as a set for $2.50. For complete information on how to order DUERSON and UPMC, either on Amazon Kindle or as generic PDF files, visit https://concussioninc.net/?p=5002.
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