Hollywood sure knows how to ruin the holidays.
On Christmas Day, Concussion — a dramatic thriller about brain damage in football players — hits theaters.
Based on the true story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian-born forensic neuropathologist (played by Will Smith) who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy in the body of deceased former Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster, Concussion chronicles how the National Football League attempted to discredit Omalu and suppress his findings.
CTE, a progressive degenerative brain disease diagnosable only upon death, is common in athletes with a history of repeat head trauma. It’s been found in the brains of dozens of deceased former NFL players — including Junior Seau and Dave Duerson, who both killed themselves, and player-turned-broadcaster Frank Gifford. Former University of Wisconsin linebacker Chris Borland cited CTE’s pervasive threat as the reason he retired earlier this year following a hugely successful rookie season with the San Francisco 49ers.
Without question, Concussion courts controversy. Director Peter Landesman denies reports he softened the film to avoid trouble with the NFL. Early screenings, as reported on cleveland.com, brought tears to the eyes of former NFL players as they watched flinch-inducing footage of hits long ago outlawed by the league but still happening at all levels of the sport. The film is bound to reignite the debate over whether football is, intellectually and morally, worth cheering about.
“I’m somewhat of a hypocrite, because I’m beginning to think more about the risk,” says Isadore Knox, co-director of the Southside Raiders, a powerhouse program in Madison that is part of the Dane County Area Youth Football League.
Knox is a former player and coach whose nephew, Derek Stanley, played for Verona High School and spent three seasons with the St. Louis Rams.
Dane County Area Youth Football follows USA Football’s Heads Up safety protocol and requires coaches, players and parents to attend preseason training to understand concussions and recognize symptoms, and it adheres to strict return-to-play policies. Additionally, each team must appoint a player safety coach, who undergoes additional training.
Knox, also director of Dane County’s Office of Equal Opportunity, held that position for the Raiders in 2014 and claims that youth football in the Madison area is safer than ever.
Still, he knows Concussion will put the sport under a microscope. “Parents should make decisions about what they think is best for their kids,” Knox says. “And if they choose not to let them play, I don’t have a problem with that.”
