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During its decade NFL careerMartin Gramatica shot for four different teams.
Gramatica last appeared in an NFL game in 2008, the second year of his two-year stint with the New Orleans Saints.
Now 49, Gramatica opened up about his past during a conversation with TMZ about his memoir, “Beyond The Uprights: The Intimate Memoir Of Martin Gramatica.”
Gramatica spoke about what he experienced in his childhood, especially about the strained relationship he had with his father.
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Retired football player Martin Gramatica of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers watches the pregame ceremonies during the game against the San Francisco 49ers on December 15, 2013 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images))
Super Bowl-winning football player described his father as a “thug”
“I had a father who was very violent, which is what I’m talking about,” Gramatica told the newspaper.
However, he emphasized that he did not speak or write about his past, asking for condolences.
“I want to make sure that people don’t read the book and say ‘feel sorry for me,’ because everything I’ve been through has made me a better person and a better father,” Gramatica said.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Martin Gramatica runs out of the tunnel before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on August 29, 2015. (Kim Klement/USA Today Sports)
Gramatica said that his father was an example of the kind of relationship he did not want to have with his own children.
“It helped me know what not to do with my kids. I want to make sure that if someone reads the book and realizes, ‘I’ve got to stop this,’ and I want someone to realize that before I did. I didn’t I didn’t realize how much was bad until I had my first son when Nico was born.”
Nico Gramatica is the placekicker for South Florida Bulls.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Martin Gramatica goes for a 24-yard field goal in the first quarter on August 23, 2003 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
Martin’s challenging relationship with his father led to an agreement between Martin and his siblings.
“I love that kid so much you think, ‘How am I ever going to do what my father did to me?’ So that’s what I felt, I talked to my brothers and we made a pact, we have to break this up,” Martin said.
“We didn’t talk [to our dad] because we just don’t want that kind of abuse in our families. I have three children. My brother Santiago has two children. So we don’t want that around our kids. That’s what the book is about.”
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Gramatica played for Kansas State before making the jump to the NFL in 1999. He spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with Tampa Bay Buccaneerswinning the Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2002.
He finished his pro football career with a career 76.4% field goal percentage.
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