Don Yaeger

Don Yaeger's Key Accomplishments Include . . .
As the author of 13 books, four of which became instant New York Times Best-sellers, Don Yaeger has developed a reputation as one of America’s most provocative journalists. His award-winning writing career, including 10 years as Associate Editor of Sports Illustrated, has led to guest appearances on every major talk show in America, including Oprah, Nightline, CNN and Good Morning America. Don’s latest work tells the story of the Duke Lacrosse scandal and film rights to the book have already been sold.  His 12th book, Turning of the Tide, has also been signed for a major theatrical release.

Few can lay claim to as exciting and colorful a career as Don. In his 20-plus years as a journalist, he has conducted interviews with some of the greatest athletes of our time – Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm, Emmitt Smith, Serena Williams, Jimmy Connors and countless others. He has lived with Walter Payton, writing the NFL legend’s autobiography as Payton courageously battled cancer, and even interviewed the President of the United States in the Oval Office.

Using lessons learned from a lifetime in sports, Don shares the formula that he has seen in the great winners he’s worked with – and explains how that formula can work for others.

He has been a featured speaker at over 100 business gatherings and athletic events.

More About Don Yaeger. . .
In the two decades since he accepted his first newspaper job in Texas, the breadth and variety of Don Yaeger’s assignments has been astounding. He has traveled the world in pursuit of stories as varied as:

• Traveling through Afghanistan with the Mujahadeen as they fought the Soviets.
• Going into Baghdad with the victorious Iraqi soccer team as the battle between insurgents and the US Military waged around them.
• Visiting China in pursuit of an underworld counterfeiting ring.
• Heading to Damascus to find the last living terrorist from the 1972 Munich Olympics.
• Living with football legend Walter Payton and his family as Payton was dying.
• Traveling with candidates from both parties during the 1988 Presidential campaign.

A 1984 graduate of Ball State University with degrees in both journalism and history, Yaeger began his career as a reporter for the San Antonio Light, where he rose through the ranks to pen investigative features for the daily.  He later moved on to the Dallas Morning News.  Following his stint in Dallas, Yaeger worked as a political editor for the Florida Times-Union.

After four years, he decided to dedicate himself to the pursuit of writing books. Yaeger’s first book, Undue Process: The NCAA’s Injustice For All, was published in 1990.  His second book, Shark Attack, chronicled the life of legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian. He has since gone on to write 12 other sports-related books (four of them New York Times bestsellers) including the highly-publicized Times bestseller, Under The Tarnished Dome: How Notre Dame Betrayed Its Ideals For Football Glory and 1998’s “Sports Book of The Year”, Pros & Cons: The Criminals Who Play in the NFL.  In  2000, Don published Sole Influence about the power shoe companies hold over athletes, and that same year, Never Die Easy: The Autobiography of Walter Payton was published. Don’s third New York Times best-seller, Ya Gotta Believe, about battle baseball legend Tug McGraw’s fight against cancer was published in 2005. His 13th book, It’s Not About The Truth, published in 2007, chronicled the story of the Duke Lacrosse rape trial that shocked the country. It became a Times best-seller in its first week of publication and is now in production for a major movie release. His most recent book, Tarnished Heisman, was released in 2008.

After several years of freelancing for Sports Illustrated, Don joined the magazine’s staff full-time in July 1996. Two years later he was promoted to Associate Editor, where his work was to cover not only sporting events but the legal issues, controversial happenings and wrongdoings which affect the world of sports.

Yaeger and his co-author William Nack were finalists for a 2000 National Magazine Award for their cover story Who’s Coaching Your Kid? This important piece triggered follow-up reports by programs such as Dateline, 20/20 and The Oprah Winfrey Show.  It also resulted in changes to the law in several states and several youth sports organizations, including Little League of America, which changed rules to require background checks of coaches and volunteers. 

Born and raised in Hawai’i, Yaeger has traveled extensively, counting the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Japan and Great Britain among the countries in which he has resided. Currently living in Tallahassee, Florida, Yaeger spends much of his time sharing the lessons he’s learned throughout his career with audiences across the country.

• What Makes the Great Ones Great
  

  As a New York Times best-selling author and Sports Illustrated Associate Editor, Don has had the opportunity to spend time with some of the greatest winners in the world of sports. Using these rich, personal accounts gathered from more than 20 years of interviews with legends like Walter Payton, Jimmy Connors, Dot Richardson, Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, John Wooden, Pat Riley, and Dale Brown, Don has distilled “Sixteen Consistent Characteristics of Greatness”. Don shares these lessons with audiences in an easy, engaging style, which helps participants realize that they, too, can achieve a higher level of personal success. In his most popular speech, Don illustrates how the great ones achieved their own greatness by detailing common characteristics in: How they think. How the prepare. How they work. How they live. Walter Payton, Jimmy Connors, Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, John Wooden, Pat Riley, and Dale Brown: Each are among the greatest winners the world of sports has ever produced. Does anyone believe the athletes mentioned above are really the GREATEST athletes of their time physically? Remember, Jordan wasn’t the first pick of the draft. O’Neal didn’t make his high school varsity team until he was a junior. Payton had to go to a small black college because bigger schools didn’t want to risk a scholarship on him. Connors, at 5-10, 155 pounds, was dwarfed by most of his competitors. Based on conversations with and lessons learned from these legendary competitors, Don offers a series of stories about what has made these great ones great … and how you can apply those lessons to your personal and professional life.

• Turning Adversity into Advantage
  

  Don, a cancer survivor, relates stories and lessons taken from those who have encountered great challenges and become better, not in spite of them, but because of them. In this speech, he reminds his audience that adversity is one of the most potent forces in life - it can build you up or tear you down. Your reaction to adversity – big or small – shapes your character, clarifies your priorities and defines your path. And, as described in this speech, it can fuel your greatness. He has discussed this subject with athletes and entertainers like Tim McGraw, who watched his father lose a battle with brain cancer. McGraw's experience preceded the release of the monster hit, "Live Like You Were Dying."

• Five Habits of Horrific Leaders
  

  Many have chronicled the habits of great leaders; however, their opposite is often overlooked in conversations about integrity, bravery and strength. In a twist on the classic discussion, Don reveals that much can be learned by studying the mistakes made by terrible leaders. Don gives his audience an inside look at some of the stories he has written about tyrants, such as Uday Hussein, the son of Saddam, who led Iraq's Olympic Committee for 20 years and tortured athletes who didn't win. Along the way, Don points out where they went wrong in order to help his audience really grasp some of the most important lessons in leadership.

• All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Little League
  

  Sportsmanship, Leadership, Teamwork, Honesty and Humility: Through emotional, personal stories, Don shows how these and other life lessons are learned in little league.  Don tells how legendary Alabama Coach Bear Bryant used football to break down racial stereotypes and how Bryant's decision impacted many in the South. He also details how the US government uses sports to help rebuild the fabric of fledgling democracies. From his experiences in Iraq, Don reveals that one of the first moves made after Saddam Hussein was captured was the successful restoration Iraq’s sports community, providing Iraqi youth with opportunities to compete in soccer, basketball and track. Why? Sports give communities, families and friends something positive to rally around.

• What Will Your Legacy Be, And What Are You Doing to Ensure It?
  

  In today's “live-for-the-moment” world, few of us have given thought to the legacy we will leave behind. While working with two exceptional athletes - Walter Payton and Tug McGraw - as they were battling for their lives, Don spent hours discussing the subject of legacy with them. Both men provided lessons that changed Don's life - lessons too important not to share.

“That ability to visualize victory, which you illustrated so wonderfully with the story about Pat Riley and the Miami Heat, is the kind of lesson every sales person can make use of. Hearing it from someone with your credentials made it all the more valuable for us.  I speak for all of us when I say that your presentation at this quarterly sales meeting was so well-received that we wish we could have you there at every meeting!”

--- Paul W. Cropper, Jr. Regional Sales Manager, Dell

“Thanks again for a truly motivational, empowering and engaging ‘conversation’ last night. You truly captivated our team and stimulated great thought! In the countless presentations that we have made to our team, I have never seen them so engaged.  Your messages were very relevant to them and the core messages of greatness, the power of associations and personal choices will make a difference in all aspects of their lives. Your ability to reach such a diverse group was amazing.  From our executives to the front line warehousemen and delivery team and to the high school aged children who attended with their parents, all were equally engaged and impacted.”

--- Susie Busch-Transou, Anheuser-Busch

“He may be a sports writer, but he should be a speech writer. Don Yaeger is as polished with the spoken word as he is with the written.  His speeches transcend age and gender. School kids and Fortune 500 executives will learn similar lessons about life, told in poignant and humorous anecdotes from Don’s personal experiences.”

--- Brian Lash, CEO, Target Companies