‘Concussion’ illuminates the grave issue of head injuries in the NFL

Washington Post

Norman Chad

Janurary 11,2016

Will Smith portrays Bennet Omalu in a scene from "Concussion." (Melinda Sue Gordon/Associated Press)

The concussion-in-football issue is rather a simple one: Bennet Omalu was able to link chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease, to repeated blows to the head that many players sustain.

Naturally, the NFL, over the tenure of two commissioners, ignored or dismissed his findings because, well, when you are a $7-billion-a-year business, nothing — including science — is going to get in the way of conducting that business.

So, yes, football has a neurological trauma problem, first brought to light after Omalu examined the body of 50-year-old former Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster in 2002.

In the recently released “Concussion” — the movie that chronicles the doctor’s exasperating struggle against the NFL to connect the game’s violent collisions to CTE — two statements by Omalu, played by Will Smith, stand out:

“God did not intend for us to play football.”

“By my estimation, Mike Webster sustained more than 70,000 blows to the head.”

[For ‘Concussion’ doctor, spotlight only gets brighter]

And when you see “Concussion,” it’s hard not to walk away with two considerations:

1. You want to think twice before playing football — can one justify the joy of playing or income derived at the risk of undeniable, serious health consequences?

2. You want to think twice before even watching football — can one justify the entertainment of the game derived at the expense of these athletes’ future brain damage?

“Concussion” may not be a great film, but it is a great tutorial on the grave nature of the concussion issue.

(By the way — if I can put on my film critic’s hat for a moment — how the heck were we watching Omalu dancing in a nightclub 30 minutes in? I’d have to say it slowed the action. But, of course, because it’s Hollywood, there had to be a romance. So they stuck a love story in “Concussion” — that’s like sticking a car chase in “Citizen Kane.”)

To this day, Omalu speaks abundant common sense on the issue. Here are some recent compelling words of his from the Los Angeles Times:

“I’m not anti-football. If as an adult you know, ‘If I play football, there’s a risk I’ll suffer brain damage,’ and you still make up your mind to play, I would be one of the first to stand up and defend your right and freedom to play.