Bob Delaney, a former NBA referee and undercover police officer, will speak about his book on the heroic efforts of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus on Tuesday, Jan. 31. The Sarasota-Manatee campus is co-presenting the event, along with Moffitt Cancer Center.
Delaney, a motivational speaker and the author of “Heroes Are Human: Lessons in Resilience, Courage and Wisdom from the COVID Front Lines,” will speak from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. in the Selby Auditorium. His remarks will be moderated by Dr. Sarah Hoffe, section head of GI radiation oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center and a professor in the USF Morsani College of Medicine’s Department of Oncologic Sciences.
Starting at 6 p.m., Delaney will sign copies of his book, a collection of first-hand stories described as a “must-read for health care workers who have been besieged by the ongoing pandemic.”
After graduating from college in the 1970s, Delaney joined the New Jersey State Police and spent several years as an undercover officer. After 14 years in law enforcement, Delaney worked as a basketball referee, including with the NBA from 1987 to 2011.
In 2008, Delaney wrote about his undercover experiences in “Covert: My Years Infiltrating the Mob,” with co-author Dave Scheiber, who also worked with Delaney on his latest book.
Delaney is renowned for helping health care workers, emergency first responders, military service members and veterans and others suffering the effects of post-traumatic stress, based on his own struggles after his work as an undercover police officer.
The new book’s “central voice and guide, Bob Delaney, is an internationally respected and experienced figure in the field of post-traumatic stress,” according to his publisher. “His powerful message to front-line caregivers is that they are not alone.”
Also supporting Delaney’s appearance at the Sarasota-Manatee campus are BMW of Sarasota and Rittenhouse Book Distributors.