Walter Payton is back in the public consciousness following the release of the controversial biography, "Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton," by Jeff Pearlman.The book shows another side of the Chicago Bears great, detailing personal battles that included family struggles, pill abuse and depression.Predictably, custom nfl jerseys Pearlman has received a good deal of criticism for his warts-and-all portrayal of Payton, who died from a rare form of cancer in 1999. He was 45.

"A Football Life: Walter Payton" debuted Thursday night on NFL Network, so Pearlman was a guest this week on "The Dave Dameshek Football Program," where he discussed the backlash that has come with the book's release."I do think when celebrities and icons like Walter Payton die young, we tend to sort of place them authentic nfl jerseys on a completely ludicrous and unrealistic pedestal where we think they were these sort of gods," said Pearlman, who also authored "Boys Will Be Boys," a book about the 1990s Dallas Cowboys. "

"Mike Ditka has devoted a ton of time, to his credit, to helping retired NFL players deal with hardships after their careers," Pearlman said. "Well, here's perhaps the greatest player in the history of the NFL, and lo and behold, we find out he has hardships, too.