David Pollack | Sage Steele Show | EP 102

I have known David Pollack for years. We worked together at ESPN, we have been friends through some of the hardest seasons of each other's lives, and I have always respected him deeply. But I did not know the full story until he sat down with me for this conversation.

David was a three-time All-American at Georgia, second only to Herschel Walker in program history. He was a first-round NFL Draft pick. And in year two of his professional career, he broke his neck. A burst fracture at C6 and C7 that nicked his spinal cord. His wife Lindsay nursed him back to health for three months while he wore a halo screwed into his skull. He went from benching 455 pounds to struggling with 135. He says there was no mourning. Just gratitude for what had already happened and a quiet belief that something better was coming next.

That belief carried him through 15 years at ESPN, a departure from the network he gave everything to, and then the phone call no husband wants to get. Lindsay had brain cancer. She had a seven-hour craniotomy. And thirty minutes after coming out of surgery, with her head still bandaged and her left arm barely working, she raised both arms and praised God.

We talk about all of it. His philosophy of building identity from the top down instead of the outside in. Why he turned down a massive sponsorship deal because it involved gambling. His new podcast. His thoughts on women's sports and the trans athlete conversation. What it actually feels like to get fired from a job you loved after 15 years. And why he coaches his daughter's basketball team and has never missed a game since leaving ESPN.

This is one of the most honest and moving conversations I have had on this show.

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