TAMPA, Fla. — You can see how successful Martin Gramatica was on the football field by a simple glance around his living room.

Shelves filled with footballs commemorating a special game or a significant kick.

And you only need to listen to some Tampa Bay Bucs legends to know how much Martin meant to the team. Derrick Brooks gave Martin a shoutout during his Hall of Fame induction speech.

Martin was the Bucs third-round draft pick in 1999 and he immediately cemented himself in Tampa Bay history. The first Argentinean to make it in the NFL, he earned the nickname Automatica for his reliable right foot. But despite all the glory and accolades, behind the scenes, Martin was living with a horrible secret. In his new book, Beyond the Uprights: The Intimate Memoir of Martin Gramatica, the Bucs former placekicker details the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father.

“A lot of the times you see the athletes when they make it and they’re playing at the higher level, and you think it was easy to get there,” Martin said. “But it was a long road.”

And it was a bumpy one. Martin didn’t know how truly awful his childhood was until he had children of his own, that includes USF placekicker Nico. And he knew they would be raised differently. Martin and his brothers made a pact to break the cycle.

“Once I had my oldest son, I said I could never do the things that were done to myself and my brothers and my mom to somebody I loved,” he said. “And that’s when I said, we made pact that we’re done, breaking ties and we’re moving on. Probably the best decision of my life.”

In a room full of memorabilia, this book is what Martin is most proud of. As hard as it was to detail the abuse, he felt an obligation to share his story with others who might be suffering in silence.

“I wanted to do it and tell the whole story because I want somebody to realize if they have a bad upbringing or abusive, they can get out of it,” Martin said.