A Holiday Football Movie the NFL Won’t Recommend Featured
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Holidays are a big time for movie releases. Big stars headline movies slipping in at the deadline so they are fresh in the minds of Academy members as Oscar season begins warming up. This particular movie, Concussion, starring Will Smith, may not please the NFL or even high school coaches, but rumor has it that it’s going to leave their ears ringing.
The first trailer, just released, is powerful and will hit hard… and may help a whole lot of young men understand why their parents worry at practices, games, and any time they hear the crunch of helmets hitting pads, the ground, and each other.
Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist from Nigeria, was the first doctor to identify the horrific impact of repetitive head injuries on NFL players. Believe it or not, this discovery was made ten years ago. People spend more time discussing Deflategate than the consequences of this health threat.
In repetitive head injuries, after the initial brain injury is resolved, damage remains. Multiple episodes of these traumas can result in significant neurological deficits. 1.6-3.8 million sports-related head injuries are sustained every year in the US. (NCBI) In football, a player may sustain thousands of further hits throughout the season. Many concussions are not medically diagnosed. Players want to play. They may tell their coaches whatever it takes to get back on the field.
The response of creating safer helmets may provide a small amount of increased safety, but most high schools can’t afford to provide the helmets with the highest safety rating, leaving kids open to repeated injuries early in life.
Dr. Omalu, after performing an autopsy on a 50-year-old ex-pro football player that was presumed to have died from a heart attack, questioned the cause of death, especially after hearing about serious behavioral changes after his retirement. He was squirting superglue into his teeth, used a Taser gun to self-treat back pain by inducing sleep, and gave away all of his money. The erratic behavior led Omalu to closely examine the brain. His findings… Well, maybe you should see the movie. Let’s just say they were not normal. And the cause of death was not natural.
Will Smith knows how to connect with a diverse audience and with his star power, the topic of football, and coverage by GQ magazine will guarantee the Christmas Day release will likely hit the top ten at the box office. The question is this: Will the increased awareness, especially mid-football season, render any significant attention to this serious issue? Will there be a demand for more studies and more information? Will people respond to situations in their own lives? Will parents question coaches in high schools and take concerns to the School Boards instead of accepting platitudes?
Only time will tell. Brain damage from football is devastating. Is it worth it for a game? Is there a way to really protect players? Questions and more questions. See the movie. Form your own opinions. And then make some noise if you think something should be done. This isn’t just Hollywood. This is life.