First, he was a college football player who donned a Harvard University letter sweater. Then he was a reality TV star. Later, he wrestled with World Wrestling Entertainment.
Now he has a book out.
And, before all that, he was a John Hersey High School student, sports star and graduate — which is why you might want to sit up and take notice.
Yep, it seems Huskie alum Chris Nowinski’s latest career move made him an author. His book, “Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis,” is due in stores Oct. 1. The manuscript — which includes a forward from ex-wrestler and former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura — takes readers through Nowinski’s concussion diagnosis and offers a broader depiction of the injury he describes as a crisis plaguing America’s footballers.
The book includes interviews with NFL Hall-of-Famers, dozens of college and youth football players and top doctors.
Nowinski, a 1996 Hersey grad, was a sports standout there before heading to Harvard to play football. He made second-team All-Ivy in his senior year, and dreamed of landing a spot in the NFL. When he didn’t get signed, he set his sights on wrestling — he’d already been training — and auditioned (and made) the MTV Reality show “WWF Tough Enough.” The top prize was a stint with the WWF.
He didn’t win, but did keep wrestling until 2003, when a kick to the head — and the resulting post-concussion syndrome — KO’d him from the professional wrestling world.
He later discovered he’d sustained multiple concussions during his time in football and wrestling, and hadn’t known.
His book already has been mentioned on ABC television, and he’s spoken on the topic. And that’s only a thumbnail sketch of what he’s been up to.
To preorder a book or get more background on him, go to www.concussioncrisis.com