Concussion In Sports Essay

The National Football League (NFL) has a concussion problem. Of course, many believe they’ve known that for quite some time. That hasn’t changed the fact that football is America’s favorite pastime (sorry baseball) – and dominates the airwaves each and every Sunday while the season is in session.

Still, it’s impossible for NFL teams to go through an entire game without someone on either sideline being removed from the game with head trauma, or as we now refer to it – a concussion. And now - staggering facts about the prolonged abuse from playing football can cause a mind-altering disease, called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

The discovery and abbreviate timeline surrounding CTE is the foundation for the new sports drama, Concussion.

In Concussion, directed by Peter Landesman (Kill the Messenger, Parkland), Will Smith stars as an immigrant doctor, Bennet Omalu – a neuropathologist working in Pittsburgh

coroner’s office. A local football legend, Mike Webster (David Morse) kills himself, Omalu discovers (via an ill-advised autopsy) that he severe brain trauma – potentially stemming from years and years of abuse playing in the NFL.

Confident in his findings, and with the support of a former Steelers doctor, Julian Bailes (Alec Baldwin), Dr. Omalu publishes his findings in a journal – which immediately catches the attention of the NFL. The NFL quickly works to discredit Dr. Omalu’s discovery – but more and more former NFL players, including Justin Strelczyk (Matt Lillig) and Andre Waters (Richard T. Jones).

However, as the tension between Omalu and the NFL grows, Omalu is forced to endure the brunt of attempting to take on a multi-billion dollar corporation. It also forces Omalu, along with his girlfriend (and eventual wife), to relocate with hopes to put their unfortunate run-in with the NFL behind them. However, when yet another former NFL star, Dave Duerson (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) commits suicide, it jumpstarts the concussion discussion all over again.

The subject matter delved into throughout this film is worth its own discussion entirely. Concussions, whether they happen on the grid iron, in a boxing ring, or some other arena of competition, doesn’t change the fact that head trauma is a prolific issue that is more paramount than ever. It just so happens that the amount of concussions that take place in the NFL is far more frequent (thus making them more detrimental to player health) than any other sports organization – thrusting football into the brightest spotlight.

For this particular film, which is based on the book, Game Brain (by Jeanne Marie Laskas), Dr. Bennet Omalu is as important to the story as his discovery. To be fair, Will Smith does his very best to bring Omalu to cinematic life – although Smith doesn’t necessarily feel as though he was the proper casting selection. Don’t get me wrong – his intentions and dramatic efforts are on point, yet I feel remiss if I didn’t admit that Smith’s attempted accent is horribly distracting for the entirety of the film.

Can a poorly executed or at least terribly distracting accent seriously over-power the information laid forth by this cinematic discovery of CTE?

Well, if you put it like that – probably not. However, there’s still little about Smith’s portrayal as Dr. Omalu that’s acclaim worthy, nor is it even Smith’s best portrayal to date. The awkward demeanor and tendencies of Dr. Omalu are notable, especially when he talks to dead bodies – although such characteristics pale in comparison to Smith’s impressive role as Muhammad Ali in Ali.

The supporting cast is hardly noteworthy, either – mainly due to the overwhelming screen time of Will Smith. But, Gugu Mbatha-Raw shines from time to time as Smith on-screen love interest, Prima. The pair shares an emotional exchange in a hospital – which was touching, albeit taxing. At the same time, one could easily make the case that far too much time is spent on the romance between Omalu and Prima, particularly when they characters are featured in a film that’s supposed to be centered upon sports

concussions.

Ironically, Albert Brooks – portraying the quick-witted, sarcastic Dr. Cyril Wecht, steals the handful of scenes of which he’s apart of, all of which are with Will Smith. On the opposite side of the horizon line is Luke Wilson, who is only notable for how ridiculous he looks attempting to portray NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell. It they were trying to make Goodell look like a clown by casting the clown-like Wilson, they surely succeeded.

At the end of the day, Concussion is not a film that was meant to be about award-worthy performances – at least that’s not how I took it. It’s dubbed to be a film for “the players,” which is a laughable notion, since you’d almost certainly have to have rocks in your head to believe football injuries wouldn’t come back to haunt you one day. The evidence of CTE in former players is tragic, to be sure, yet if you turn on a TV on Sunday afternoon, there’s football – alive and well.

The impact and research of CTE on players is ongoing – with new cases popping-up all the time. However, Concussion doesn’t go far enough with its digs at the NFL. The NFL allegedly (although we’ll never know) knew about the detrimental physicality the sport had on its players for quite a long time. Truthfully, it doesn’t matter in the long run, I suppose. Football is America’s version of ancient gladiator games – which saw men fight to the death. So, until someone dies on the field, the revelations about CTE are likely to be negligible.

In the end, Concussion should be considered an incomplete drama that would have been better off not being made at all – at least not yet. It’s a nice little puff piece about Dr. Bennett Omalu, the man that discovered CTE in former football players. Regardless, the film hardly ignites a conversation. Even more comical is the fact that the NFL openly advertises Concussion during its games – as if it’s perfectly fine with the content or implications that the NFL is not safe enough for players (despite recent rule changes). Sure, Will Smith delivers an above average performance, which may or may not be worth the up-tick in interest for casual moviegoers, but to say this film is life-alter or an awakening for football fans or players is preposterous. In the end, you’re better off watching the PBS documentary, League of Denial, if you’re truly interested in concussion information as it pertains to football.