Author McMahon Criticizes Boss

Jim McMahon, Chicago Bears quarterback, has criticized team President Michael McCaskey in his autobiography, “McMahon!” Writes McMahon: “Michael McCaskey doesn’t have any qualifications to operate the Bears, except his name.”

McCaskey’s secretary said he could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but a Bear spokesman said McCaskey would have nothing to say about the book, which has been in stores for about 10 days.

“I think I might retire early rather than play the rest of my career” for McCaskey, McMahon writes later in the book.

He says other players share his feelings. “Most of us just laugh to keep from strangling him,” McMahon writes.

McMahon was unavailable for comment Wednesday, but his agent, Chicago lawyer Stephen Zucker, said he simply wrote what he felt.

“That’s the way he feels and that’s the way a lot of the players feel,” Zucker said of the McCaskey comments.

“He loves being a Bear, though, and that’s one thing that does come out if you take the whole thing in context,” the agent said.

McMahon received a six-figure advance from Warner Books Inc., Zucker said, adding it was the largest ever given an athlete-author. The book was written in collaboration with Chicago sportswriter Bob Verdi.