Former NFL player Ray Schoenke's memoir shares a glimpse into the pressures of football.
The book entitled “Fat Girl Sings” was published in May 2023.
"As a young child, I was overweight, brown-skinned, and in Texas, and as a 10 year old and 11 and 12, the kids would make fun of me, and they'd call me 'fat girl', to humiliate me and embarrass me. And I was just so saddened by it," said Schoenke.
The former offensive lineman for the then-Washington Redskins was born in Hawaiʻi and attended Punahou School for two years. He was also inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Schoenke discussed the significant drug usage within the NFL that kept players playing through their injuries.
"It was part of the of the profession, you know, that the guys were taking drugs," Schoenke said. "A lot of guys took drugs and didn't didn't sleep for days. I wanted to take enough just to get me buzzed, but I wanted to go to sleep that night."
To find the book, click here.
This interview aired on The Conversation on June 18, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
