Ex-NFL player, gentleman scholar, and Fox Sports personality Marcellus Wiley sucks you into a world of inner-city violence, Ivy League intrigue, and pro-football escapades that's one part touching, one part hilarious, and all parts impossible to put down. Marcellus Wiley has never had a problem expressing his opinion, whether it was growing up in Compton with a football tucked under his arm, or going to college at Columbia University, where he learned to survive Advanced Calculus and self-important pseudo-intellectuals. Or making it to the NFL against all odds, where he put together a ten-year career of massive paydays, massive painkillers, and massive sacks of everyone from Steve Young to Peyton Manning. Now, in Never Shut Up , Fox Sports' hottest rising persona doesn't hold back as he goes off on everything that's controversial with the game today, from concussions to political protests to inherent violence that's worse than the hood he grew up in. Not because he hates football, but because he wants to save it. Marcellus has never held back, even when a lot of people wanted him to. Now, he's letting it all hang out--right there on each page. Way more than just another book about the latest NFL scandals, this warm, moving, and genuinely funny story of awkward transitions, family loyalty, fame, fortune, and failure will make you fall in love with Marcellus--and football--all over again. In Never Shut Up , Marcellus will take you on a truly unique journey from Crenshaw to Broadway to the Buffalo Bills and back again, sometimes making you laugh, sometimes making you cry, but always leaving you entertained. "A candid, thoroughly appealing autobiography from an NFL player–turned–television personality who has crossed boundaries and achieved success at every level." — Library Journal “There are plenty of football anecdotes and insider observations here to please fans, but Wiley’s book will also appeal to anyone who values self-awareness, determination, and hard work.” — Booklist “An effective sports memoir, inspiring, good-natured, and sometimes rueful.” —Kirkus  “Marcellus is a model for pro athletes who want to go from on-the-field excellence to reinventing themselves and being excellent on radio and TV. They think what he’s doing is easy and it’s not. My hat goes off to him because he’s made all the right decisions and all the right moves.” —Magic Johnson, NBA Hall of Famer   “What a great run Marcellus had on the field and an incredible run he’s had off the field, displaying his wit, intelligence, and charisma. I’m even more proud of what he’s become as a family man and as a human being.” —Bruce Smith, NFL Hall of Famer   “I have known Marcellus since he was seventeen. He’s one of the strongest, most laser-focused and resilient people I know. I’m truly blessed to have him in my life. But my first impression was, ‘I am gonna love this kid but it’ll take loads of energy as he will Never Shut Up !” —Jacqueline P. Blackett, associate athletic director at Columbia University   “When he's quiet, he's thinking, and when he's talking, he's teaching. It's no wonder Marcellus can Never Shut Up , and I’m glad we all get to listen.” —Tiki Williams, Sister and Protector Marcellus Wiley was raised in South Central LA, earned a sociology degree from Columbia University, and was an All-Pro who played ten years in the NFL for four different teams. He currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son (and kinda wishes his daughter lived here too, instead of at school in Connecticut). You can find him starring on Fox Sports TV.   INTRODUCTION   THE CAMERA CREW got to our apartment at six in the morning that Saturday. A whole team from CNN—sound, makeup, producers, the whole deal—squeezed into my tiny childhood home in South Central, there to broadcast live during the 1997 draft. This was the same place I had grown up. Sharing a room with my sister that wasn’t even a room, just a nook with a sheet hung up for privacy. Listening to NWA songs about shootings and drugs and gangs, about things I saw every day on the streets. Sitting on the floor my freshman year of high school, staring into space as I iced my aching, inflamed knees, wondering if I’d ever achieve my NFL dreams and get my family out of the hood. Now, after all those years, all those struggles, here was a CNN camera crew right in our living room to watch as I finally got chosen by some team, any team, to play in the League. Of course, first they had to figure out how to fit all their shit into the damn place. By the time they unloaded all their gear, all their equipment, all their mics and cameras, we looked around and realized there was nowhere left for any actual people to sit! The CNN guys took a look around, scratched their heads, and promptly got rid of half their stuff, making barely enough room for me and my family to watch my fate unfold on TV. A lot of the potential first‑round picks were actually att