Ruffians

Green is uniquely qualified to write a novel about the inner workings of pro football. A former All-American at Syracuse, he is a defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons, a columnist for the Syracuse Herald-Journal and a commentator for National Public Radio. Indeed, this may be the first novel about pro football ever written by an active player. It is unlikely that the league will be thrilled by what Green has penned, however, since he depicts pro football as an obsessively violent game whose players often are under the influence of steroids and amphetamines. Clay Blackwell is big, strong and naturally gifted. He is drafted by the Birmingham Ruffians, the NFL's worst team, whose owner is vicious and unscrupulous and whose coach is a borderline psycho, an egomaniac seething with rage. Like his teammates, Clay is expected to use a mysterious steroid-and-amphetamine compound if he wants to play. When this nefarious policy leads to tragedy, Clay finally rebels. Though Green obviously knows the football world quite well, his portrait of the NFL is melodramatic and exaggerated. On the other hand, he excels in making the interplay between teammates both believable and entertaining. An uneven debut, but one that suggests that Green might develop into a good comic writer about pro sports. (Sept.)