About Brendan Meyer
Brendan Meyer is a freelance writer based in Chicago, Illinois. He studied at the Missouri School of Journalism, and has written for such newspapers and magazines as The Dallas Morning News, ESPN, Casper Star-Tribune (Wyo.), Bleacher Report and St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He has primarily served on enterprise and sports beats. In 2018, he received the Michael Brick Storytelling Award. His work has also been recognized by The Best American Sports Writing 2020.
Articles written by Brendan Meyer
Learning Curve
Unlikely education cases taught Skyler Hutto a thing or twoSkyler Hutto needs to scratch the passion itch from time to time. In addition to his personal injury and criminal defense work at Williams & Williams, pro bono work has allowed the 31-year-old to explore another interest. “Public education work is something that’s close to me,” he says. “I graduated from a private high school, but for most of my life, I went to public school. It gave me a great foundation.” Hutto’s pro bono work has led him to represent public schools at the …
Showing Them the Money
Trey Robinson’s gig as an NFL agentAt Clemson, Neil “Trey” Robinson had a front row seat to the behind-the-scenes life of an athlete. His best friend and roommate was Aaron Kelly, the star wide receiver for the Tigers who appeared destined for the NFL. He signed with an agent and kept training, but didn’t get drafted. “In my simple mind at the time, I figured that if you don’t get drafted, that’s the end of the road,” Robinson says. “But I quickly learned that it’s just the start of a different path.” In …
From the Barn to the Bar
Mitch Gilfillan went from playing Division I basketball to repping coaches and ADsThere are days when Mitch Gilfillan drives to visit his parents after a long day at the courthouse and passes by a sheet metal barn in his hometown of Morton. The barn sits beside a house, looking just like the other barns in town. But inside, there are no tractors or supplies or farm animals. There’s a basketball court. The 39-year-old attorney estimates that, as a kid, he must’ve attempted tens of thousands of shots on that court. He was friends with the owners, who provided him with a …
‘I Came Out Punching’
How Lem Barney led Jim Acho to sports law, and taking on the MLB and NFLJim Acho never asks for gifts from the athletes he’s represented over the years, but he gets them anyway. The walls of his home and work office are lined with framed and signed jerseys from clients like Hall of Famers Gale Sayers, Lem Barney, and Pat Summerall. There are two 7-foot high memorabilia cases filled with game-used helmets, signed baseballs, basketballs, footballs and bats. There are so many gifts that Acho has run out of space—many sit in boxes in storage. But it’s the …
Salt in His Veins
If not a lawyer, Steve Levin might have been an oceanographer or marine biologistOne of Steve Levin’s favorite photos on his desk is the one with an outstretched cownose ray that’s photobombing him. In it, Levin is at work in downtown Chicago on another busy afternoon, clutching a bucket filled with shrimp, squid and clam, hooked to an umbilical-like cord that pumps oxygen into his mouth as he moves underwater. The photo was taken years ago, when Levin volunteered every week as a coral reef diver at the Shedd Aquarium. On Thursdays and Saturdays, he would swap his suit …
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lawyer
Miles Macik traded in his NFL jersey for a business suitMiles Macik’s career in the NFL may have been short, but it couldn’t have started off better. In his first professional game with the Detroit Lions, a 1996 preseason home game against the New Orleans Saints, his team was down by a touchdown, 40 yards from their end zone, with seconds left on the clock. Macik, a wide receiver, lined up in the bunch formation on the right side of the field. He was held off the line at the start of the play, but quickly caught up and sprinted ahead, weaving …
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