Will Smith’s “Concussion” brings light to NFL Dangers

This month sees the release of King Richard, the latest film to star the Fresh Prince himself, Will Smith. In the movie, which is based on an inspirational true story, he plays Richard Williams, the coach, mentor and father of two of tennis’ greatest superstars, Serena and Venus Williams.

With no prior experience of coaching tennis, Will Smith’s character faces a tough battle as he traverses a troubled past, and faces skepticism, on his way to seeing his two daughters dominate the sport. It’s an incredible story of the hardships they faced, and will have you cheering and crying with every swing of their rackets.

But King Richard isn’t the first sports film based on a true story that has involved Will Smith. Back in 2015, he starred in Concussion, a movie about the doctor who would eventually go on to change the NFL and their approach to player welfare following research he conducted on the dangers of playing American Football. A topic that still gets a lot of attention anytime a player is sidelined with a concussion. When looking at most NFL forums you can not only find talk about sports picks but also about the league’s effort to make the game safer for it’s players. So what better time to revisit that film, than before his next triumphant role as another iconic individual who changed the course of sporting history.

What was Concussion about?

Concussion is a film that tells the story of an American immigrant, Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith), who was a neuropathologist. Following a lot of research into American football-related brain trauma, he made the first discovery of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in a professional football player. It is a mental health condition that develops due to repetitive impact at high force upon the skull.

It’s not just a simple story of science though, it’s also about how Dr. Omalu fights for the truth to be known. That he believed player welfare was being put at risk, and more needed to be done to protect these athletes. However, it would be no easy journey taking on one of the most powerful institutions in the world. But due to his determination and the things he witnessed in his research, he knew he had to speak out, or sit silent and watch people unnecessarily suffer.

The true story

It would take shocking events that took place before the timeline of the movie, to even bring this to the attention of Dr. Omalu. A journey he didn’t even realise he would take all began when he was investigating a body that was brought to his lab for an autopsy. The body was that of Mike “Iron Mike” Webster, who was a former professional footballer for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His cause of death would eventually be labelled down to a heart attack, but it was the reasons for the heart attack that would prompt an investigation into CTE.

It was common knowledge that Iron Mike had mental health issues. There were plenty of fans that would often be found telling stories of how he would rant at strangers on the street, and when he was unable to sleep, he would often shock himself with a taser gun, to force him to go unconscious in a bid to get some rest. This eventually took its toll on his body, and his heart would give out when he hit the age of 50.

Not really knowing much about American football, having grown up in Nigeria, Dr. Omalu took the opportunity to investigate the mind of a former professional athlete with known mental health issues. And what he discovered shocked him to the core. Not just by what he found, but because of how these issues were being ignored, swept under the rug, diminished in the name of not making the NFL look bad.

So, Dr. Omalu fought the system. Refusing to bow to pressure to withdraw his findings. And he won his battle, and brought about change within the NFL, forcing them to admit they were responsible for ignoring player welfare, and making rule changes that would better protect the players. Changing the sport for forever, and for the better.

Interesting facts about the film

In an effort to further show support to ex-professional players, besides getting Dr. Omalu’s story out there, Sony Pictures offered advanced screenings of the film to former NFL Players and their families. Many across the country turned up to support the film, and give it exposure, helping to raise awareness around CTE and the seriousness of putting player welfare at the forefront of the game.
Despite showing scenes where Dr. Omalu takes on the NFL and how they try to silence him and his findings, Sony Pictures actually eased up on the story. They consulted with NFL officials because they didn’t want to feel the wrath of one of the US’ most powerful organisations, and so made it more of a whistle-blower type story, than making the NFL seem like a corrupt organisation.
The film was originally due to be directed by Ridley Scott, who offered Will Smith the role of Dr. Omalu. But in the end, Scott pulled out and Peter Landesman took over.

There you have it, a quick revisit of the 2015 hit, Concussion, starring Will Smith. If you’ve seen it before, let us know your thoughts on it in the comments or on social media, if not, why not check it out and let us know what your thoughts are too having watched it for the first time.

Image 1 Source: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/09/02/sports/02CONCUSSIONweb1/02CONCUSSIONweb1-superJumbo.jpg

Image 2 Source: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/09/02/sports/02CONCUSSIONweb1/02CONCUSSIONweb1-superJumbo.jpg