Ridley Scott’s taut thriller rocked the world of American football – we look at the story behind Concussion
Dr Bennet Omalu was assigned to perform an autopsy on Pittsburgh Steelers player Mike Webster. What he discovered sparked national controversy
COVER-UPS and conspiracies have long been a staple film plot.
And in the 2015 Ridley Scott movie Concussion, that age-old idea of an organisation suppressing the truth was given a shocking twist, with a story that struck at the core of American life.
In the film, Will Smith plays Dr Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist who, when performing an autopsy on a former Pittsburgh Steelers American football player, finds signs of extreme brain damage.
There follows an investigation into the effects of head trauma on other former players and Omalu’s battle against the National Football League (NFL) to bring the issue to light.
If it makes for compelling watching, the tale that inspired it is no less remarkable.
In 2002, Omalu was assigned to the autopsy of Mike Webster, who had died from a heart attack aged just 50.
Webster had been a Steelers hero – his 15 seasons and 220 games for them was a team record.
But before his death, he suffered severe mental health problems. He would sleep in his car as he couldn’t recall where he lived, and he bought a police taser with which he would zap himself to “calm his nerves”.
Omalu was concerned about how such a physically fit athlete could deteriorate so dramatically.
He examined Webster’s brain and found a strain of protein known as tau that can impair moods and cognitive function.
Attributing Webster’s condition directly to the repeated blows he’d taken to the head during his years as a footballer, Omalu published his findings in the prestigious medical journal Neurosurgery, coining the term chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) to describe the condition.
The NFL’s response was a letter accusing Omalu’s study of “serious flaws” and demanding a retraction, but Omalu pressed on, examining the brain of Terry Long, another former Steelers player.
He had also shown a mental decline and died aged 45 after drinking antifreeze.
Omalu found the same protein and attributed it to CTE, describing it as consistent with a “90-year-old brain with advanced Alzheimer’s.”
Once again, the NFL denied a connection between the players’ careers and their deaths.
Even after Omalu discovered evidence of CTE in three further retired players: Justin Strzelczyk (who died aged 36 driving into oncoming traffic), Andre Waters (who committed suicide at 44), and Tom McHale (who died at 45 of an accidental overdose).
However, the sport’s official governing body declared: “The only scientifically valid evidence of a chronic encephalopathy in athletes is in boxers and in some steeplechase jockeys.”
Faced with such a powerful organisation bent on discrediting him, there seemed little Omalu could do – until 2009, when journalist Jeanne Marie Laskas published an article in GQ exploring Omalu’s discovery of CTE in retired footballers and detailing the NFL’s denials.
Public outrage was immediate, and after the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was ordered to testify to a government judiciary committee the following month, new measures to protect players were put in place.
Omalu was vindicated, the floodgates opened and a slew of former players filed legal action against the NFL.
By the time of the film’s release last year, over 5,000 players were involved in lawsuits and the total payout by the NFL is expected to exceed £819million, made up of compensation, medical exams and ongoing research and education.
American football is a national obsession across the Atlantic. But thanks to Dr Omalu, it’s no longer a national scandal.
