Jeff Benedict


Jeff Benedict is an American author, a special features writer for Sports Illustrated, and a television and film producer. He has written for The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, and his stories have been the basis for segments on 60 Minutes, 20/20, CBS Sunday Morning, CBS Evening News, the NFL Network, HBO Real Sports, Good Morning America, 48 Hours, and the Discovery Channel. He is also the founder and director of the Institute for Writing and Mass Media at Southern Virginia University.

Biography

Benedict has a B.A. in history from Eastern Connecticut State University. He received an M.A. in Political Science from Northeastern University and a J.D. from the New England College of Law.
Before becoming a journalist, Benedict was the director of research at the Center for Study of Sports and Society at Northeastern University, where he conducted groundbreaking research on athletes and violence against women. In graduate school he went on to publish a series of studies on violence against women. Then, while in law school, he worked as an assistant to the chief prosecutor in the child victims unit at the District Attorney's office in Boston.
In 2002 Benedict ran as a Democrat for U.S. Congress in Connecticut's 2nd congressional district. He lost in the Democratic primary to Joe Courtney. In 2003, Benedict partnered with Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and founded the Connecticut Alliance Against Casino Expansion, a non-profit corporation that led the effort to repeal Connecticut's Las Vegas Nights law. Benedict also led the effort to prevent Donald Trump and other casino moguls from constructing casinos in Connecticut.

Publications

Benedict has written 15 nonfiction books. His most recent book is a biography on Tiger Woods, co-written with Armen Keteyian and published by Simon & Schuster in 2018. In 2016, Benedict wrote the national bestseller QB: My Life Behind the Spiral, the autobiography of Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young. He also was a writer and creative consultant for "Steve Young: A Football Life" which was based on the book and aired on the NFL Network in 2016.
Benedict's book My Name Used to be Muhammad is the biography of a fundamentalist Muslim from Nigeria who was persecuted and imprisoned for converting to Christianity. It was a Book of the Year finalist 2013. Also in 2013, he published The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football, co-written with Armen Keteyian. He is also an executive producer for the motion picture "Little Pink House," based on his book Little Pink House which was published in 2009.
Benedict's other books include:
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