Trash Talk

The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn't Total Garbage

By: Rafi Kohan

Narrated by: Rafi Kohan

“You’re mad at me, but I am killing you.”—NBA star Gary Payton
“Find the hate.”—NFL star Warren Sapp
“Why can’t you be more like Rafi Kohan?”—your mom, probably

Whether in basketball, football, or MMA, athletes talk trash to each other—and sometimes to fans—like it’s their job. And in some ways, it is: sports only matter if we decide to care about them. And insulting your opponent, or playing the heel, is probably the fastest route to making someone care. Talking smack is as old as the bible; it’s perhaps the original sport.

But until now, there’s never been a book about it.

In this lively, often hilarious history, Rafi Kohan interviews some of the world’s top competitors—on the petty rivalries and mind games that fuel them. He talks to point guards and soccer strikers, cricketers and insult comedians, forming a theory along the way about the surprising and influential role that name-calling plays in our world.

Brilliantly original and wide-ranging, Trash Talk is a book for sports fans, culture mavens, or anyone looking to get an edge.

A spirited, scholarly and comprehensive look at Trash Talk in sports and in our culture.

Rafi Kohan entertains and enlightens us in this deeply researched and thorough look at trash talk in various aspects of our culture. He points us to examples in history, comedy, the military, and of course politics. (We’re looking at you, Donald Trump!) The practice is not confined to sports. The author explores the uses of trash talk and its limits of acceptable use. He looks at the different ways the targets of trash talk may respond. But mostly, the book is both informative, highly entertaining, and extremely well- written!

Data was good, overall purpose of book still in question.

The author does a good job of integrating multiple stories which was very entertaining. Easy to relate and see the effect of trash talk and I appreciated his statistical analysis. When he started down the path of sharing his own political beliefs and bashing right wing political folks, he lost the positive traction he gained. At the end, I’m wondering what his purpose in the book was.