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Will Smith's 'Concussion' Puts the NFL Under a Microscope

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Will Smith's 'Concussion' Puts the NFL Under a Microscope

Fortune.com

Benjamin Snyder

December 25,2015

The league says it welcomes ‘any conversation’ about player health and safety.

Will Smith could make waves on Christmas Day with the release of a new film he’s starring in that’s on the offensive against the National Football League’s past relationship to player safety.

The film, Concussion, is based on a true story and follows Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, the Nigerian forensic pathologist responsible for uncovering the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Dr. Omalu first found CTE during an autopsy of Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame center Mike Webster, who exhibited signs of dementia before dying of a heart attack in 2002. Nearly 90 other deceased former NFL players have been diagnosed with CTE in an ongoing study being conducted at Boston University, 60 Minutes reported last month.

The Sony Pictures’ SNE 0.32% film centers on Dr. Omalu’s attempts at bringing to light his research while the NFL reportedly does its best to keep the findings under wraps. Concussion is being released at an important time for the discussion of head injuries and CTE: U.S. Media outlets, such as The New York Times, have brought widespread attention to the issue—and the film—in the past year.

Earlier this week, ESPN reported the league pulled out of a funding the Boston University study on football-related head trauma, but NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told Fortune the story is “inaccurate.”

“The NFL did not pull funding from the BU study. The NIH makes all funding decisions,” he added. “The NFL has no ‘veto power’ as part of its unrestricted $30 million grant to NIH.”
In a statement to Fortune on Thursday, the NFL called Concussion part of an important step toward discussing head injuries and athletes’ health. “We welcome any conversation about player health and safety. Broader and deeper awareness of these issues will positively impact all athletes,” McCarthy said.
The NFL has made changes over the years to “enhance player health and safety at all levels of football,” he added. “These include nearly 40 rule changes in the last decade, strict concussion protocols, and better training and sideline medical care. We are seeing measurable results, including a 34 percent decrease in concussions in NFL games since the 2012 season.”
McCarthy continued: “Additionally, we are funding independent scientific and medical research and the development of better protective equipment to advance further progress. The game continues to change, and player health and safety remains our highest priority.”
 
After the trailer’s release, however, controversy sparked as media reports suggested the film was toned down to boost the NFL’s image, as first reported by the New York Times. (You can see the film’s trailer here)

Jeanne Marie Laskas, whose work the film is based on, compared the NFL to the tobacco industry last month.

The film, which has been receiving solid reviews for Smith’s performance, features the work of writer-director Peter Landesman, who claims the conversation on concussions is causing a drop in participation in youth football leagues, as reported by Reuters on Thursday.

“Those elite athletes at six, seven years old are not playing football; they’re wrestling, they’re running, they’re playing lacrosse,” Landesman told Reuters. “Those kids will not show up in the NFL, that number is only going to get bigger. [There’s a] seismic change coming for the sport.”

Although the NFL has had a conflicted past with concussions, Landesman says that the league has changed its tune in recent years. “I think the NFL is doing everything they can do on this issue,” he said in the interview. “They have concussion protocols and they let players talk about it. I think the problem is there’s a very limited range of things they can actually do.”

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