Dr. Bennet Omalu: The Death Of Mike Webster

A concussion is indeed a captivating, nonfictional book that explores the life and story of a thirty-four-year-old doctor, living in Pittsburg. He was born in Biafra, Nigeria, but went to study in America. Dr. Omalu is not a football fanatic until he stumbles upon the body of Mike Webster. He then strives to unleash what exactly happened to Mike Webster. It is the death of Mike Webster that leads to a series of scientific researches for Dr. Bennet Omalu. When Omalu performs an autopsy on Webster to find out what exactly kills him, he suspects that Webster did not die of a heart attack as earlier speculated, but rather due to a serious brain injury. He soon finds out that Webster’s brain is full of sludge- like proteins, called tau. The

quest for finding answers for the death of so many footballers will see the Dr. Omalu’s life change forever as it puts him into compromising situations with the most powerful corporations in America. Concussion, therefore, is an inspiring true story of one brave man’s decision to stand up for the truth.
The book brings into limelight the NFL. The football league is one the very richest corporations in the world. All the autopsies done by Omalu were those of footballers who had played for the NFL.it is considered among the most popular sports league in North America. The NFL majorly employs players to play for the team and pays them. With its big name, the NFL has a very good reputation and would not want their image tainted in any way. The NFL pays it, players, very well, but somehow, it does not consider the pension and disability plan as a major concern.
The main characters explored by the book include Mike Webster, Dr. Omalu, Julian Bailes, Cyril wretch and the NFL doctors. Dr. Omalu as the main character is depicted as a deeply devout man, a trait that explains why he is unwavering to reveal the agony the footballers are undergoing. He is single minded in the clarity of his logical pursuits. Although he knows nothing about football, he is interested more in learning the characteristics of the game that might put the footballers’ brains at risk of damage. (Langlois, 194) He is devoted to finding out about brains, so much that he finds himself taking them home to carry out his research. This is against the social etiquette, but he is nevertheless determined.
Mike Webster, on the other hand, was probably unaware of his brain trauma. Webster’s life had become enigmatic and awful after his football life. Everybody wondered how anyone would go from “four super bowl rings to…pissing in his own even and squirting super glue on his rotting teeth.” (Laskas, 28) Mike Webster would exterminate himself into unconsciousness just to get some sleep. He lost everything.
When Omalu went to his boss to ask for permission to study Webster’s brain, Cyril Wetch, he does not seem stupefied. Any other boss would have simply advice Omalu to stick with the protocols. Wetch is depicted as one who never resisted a high profile case, so he asked Omalu to do what he needed to do.
The three NFL scientists, including Ira Casson, Elliot Pellman, and David Viano, were all members of the NFL’s Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee. Their letter to the editor in response to Omalu’s developments carried a tone that showed they were not happy at all about it. They, therefore, wanted Omalu’s article retracted on the basis that it was a “complete misunderstanding” and that it had “serious flaws.” (Laskas, 36)
Omalu could not help but wonder how Casson, Pellman or Viano would come into conclusion on his work, yet neither of them was a neuropathologist. Pellman himself was a rheumatologist and headed the committee. NFL had no idea that at that time of denying Omalu’s findings, he was already working on another brain. When Omalu wrote another paper, it was published. The NFL responded with a denial and said that the young pathologist had no idea what he was talking about.
Julian Bailes, a renowned neurosurgeon, had worked as a Steelers, team doctor.

He had known Mike Webster as well as Terry long (Omalu’s second case brain case). Bailes had experiences that touched and interconnected with Omalu’s research in so many ways. When he called Omalu to say that he believed him, Dr. Omalu was ecstatic. It was the first time that anybody confirmed his work as valid. Ultimately, Omalu sent all his brain tissues to Bailes and they, together with Fitzsimmons, became a team with a mission. Their resolve was to learn more about the disease, understand NFL’s adamant, extreme denial and to break them of

it.
Among the very major victims of all this scuffle include Mike Webster, Andre Waters, Justin Strzelcyk, Tom McHale, among so many others. All these people fell victims of brain damage in the course of playing for NFL. NFL had not accepted the responsibility for this mess. The MBTI committee published scientific studies that repeated head bashing did not cause brain damage. Even with the scientific proofed slides from Omalu and Bailes, the NFL did not bulge.
From an ethical perspective, one would say that the NFL as a whole, failed to adhere to the universal ethics.

According to the utilitarian view, the right action is that which produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people. (Darwall, 17) The company needed to look beyond the consequences for the company. They failed in this sense because they were only protecting their interests. The deontological view also, on the other hand, implies that right action is that which recognizes the rights of individuals, not based on the consequences. In this case, the rights of an individual are put on forehand, such as their right to life, rights to be free from physical harm, right to consent, right to free thought and speech, among others. The NFL evidently violated this. Thirdly, the justice and fairness view requires that a right action is that which is just and fair. The way NFL handled the cases of the victims was unjust and unfair because they were only protecting their name and reputation. Also, the relativist indicates that an action is right if it is regarded as right in a particular situation or culture. The actions done in Concussion to the victims are very uncouth. The last view is about the Virtue-based view. (Darwal, 34)Under this, the right action is that which is based on a virtue shared by a person of moral character. What Omalu was doing was right because he had a virtue to seek the

truth.
The unethical situation could have occurred due to several reasons, which can broadly be classified under individual or organizational factors. The individual and personal characteristics of Dr. Omalu are based on his experiences, his faith and beliefs and his ability to risk for the greater good. Together with Bailes, their deeds contribute to a deeper understanding of certain matters such as NFL’s cover up. It later comes to be considered unethical. On the other hand, some organizational factors would include the need of the corporation to protect its name and reputation. The organization needed to look good to make profits. The groupthink factor could also influence their decisions in the case that all the players were always protected since they wore helmets. The misconception that when one gets hurts, they should “get up and not show that it hurts” has also proven to be a bad choice.
The impact of unethical behavior will have serious consequences on NFL as it will decrease its credibility from people and society at large. Their disregard has led to several deaths of innocent people at a very young age. Omalu also is not spared in the case that he was simply trying to expose the truth to the public, yet he was humiliated and mocked by the NFL. To make things right, the NFL should at least alter the rules of the game to reduce head to head collision. This will save both the players and the entire corporation from losses within the course of playing. Perhaps the NFL could also consider creating a new culture, with new rules, reward s and punishments to favor the players rather than the company. That way, the society will reconsider looking at football as a new game with better outcomes. The NFL, having been pictured in this case should ensure that they need to be open to criticism. There should be an open platform for new ideas and developments. They should most importantly put people first, before money. Other companies are urged to also learn from this encounter.
This book is an eye opener for anyone that reads it. It is insightful and inspirational; one that reminds you of humanity and the ethics to always that safeguard human beings.