Concussion

About Concussion

In the film Concussion, Dr. Bennet Omalu discovers a rare brain condition, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, brought on by brain damage that can be accumulated by hits a person takes while playing the game of football. He goes forward to publish his research and bring awareness to the condition. He discovers quickly that bringing awareness to the condition may be harder than he thought. This is due to the National Football League working alongside the neuroscience community in America. This creates a huge conflict of interest and for the remainder of the film, it is Omalu fighting against the neuroscience community for the awareness of this new discovery. He goes on to receive constant threats and fights for the ability to save lives.

Concussion's Relation To Sport Business

We are finally at a point where mental health is spoken about more openly. In the film Concussion, we watch the downward spiral of multiple NFL players due to a lack of an important conversation when they needed it. Multiple suicides begin to take place by typically healthy males who played in the NFL at some point in their life. This brings up the conversation of not only mental health for the general population but why the men did not come forward with feelings of depression when it got bad. We live in a culture where it is seen as unmasculine to come forward with feelings at times. As time goes on, the culture improves with normalizing the discussion of mental health in men, but there is still a long way to go. We love staying physically healthy through an exercise like playing sports, but negative effects on mental health can totally cancel that out.

Throughout the film, it becomes clear that the NFL association does not necessarily have the players’ best interest at heart. Rather, they are more business focussed over everything. This reminds us that it is important to keep our own safety and health as a priority when joining a sport because although there remain amazing coaches and teams in many sports, only you can really make yourself your top priority. Dr. Omalu was the only man who fought for the awareness of CTE but almost EVERYONE went against him. People tried to cover up what he knew. Therefore, it is up to you to take your own health and safety into account. We can’t all have a Dr. Omalu on our side.

Why watch Concussion?

Concussion is a film based on real-life events that are crucial to be aware of if you want to get into a sport with a lot of physical contact. It tells the incredible story of the discovering of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and the fight for its awareness. You better sit down and watch this one like your life depends on it because it just might.

Trailer & Extras