“Concussion”
is a very good and disturbing movie about Dr. Bennett Omalu, the pathologist who discovered the
brain damage caused by playing football. His story of courage, honesty, and
persistence is inspiring. This is a very human story about very human people
caught in this difficult truth about football.
Oscar nominations for the movie and for Will Smith should be
forthcoming.
Short
version – football damages the brains of its players. Not too complicated. The human brain was never developed over millions
of years of evolution to be jarred up against the inside of the skull over and
over and over and over again in a game that football players practice and play
for years and for decades.
Is it just the
big concussions where a player loses consciousness the problem? No. The bigger
problem is the countless sub-concussions that come from every block, every
tackle, every bounce of the head off the turf, pretty much every play that
every player plays. That’s the
problem. Blocking and tackling, or, the
game itself.
The movie is
about the scientist who discovered the brain damage to one of the game’s
greatest players - Mike Webster of the
famous Pittsburgh Steelers multi-Super Bowl victory team. Hall of Famer. Center.
Block block block block block block …
How does it
work? Apparently what happens during
sub-concussions is that a protein known as tau forms around blood vessels in
the brain, tau is released into the brain after an event (each and every block or
tackle during a game, or during practice, etc.), then more of that protein is
released the next time, and more, and more.
The blood vessels become more and more impaired and constricted by the
protein and eventually the brain becomes deformed, brittle, dramatically
impaired. The result is CTE, Chronic
Traumatic Encephalopathy. (See the
symptoms and tragic human results later in this post)
So, as I
have written often, I simply do not enjoy watching football anymore because all
I see is brain damage. I was a big fan
back in the Mike Webster days. Not
anymore.
What to
do? I think football will just fade
away. As Will Smith, star of the movie, said
in an interview on the Charlie Rose show, his son played football in high
school, and Will Smith was completely unaware of this danger to his son. I believe parents will refuse to allow their
sons to play football as they come to understand the consequences. I believe others will be like me (and Will
Smith and the director, Peter Landsman, who played high school and college
football) and we will simply stop watching simply because it is not fun to
watch people inflict brain damage upon each other.
This is a
strangely American problem because football is such a representation of the
American notion of “Manhood” – being tough, strong, impervious to pain,
courageous, playing hurt, hyper aggressive, punishing, bulling, pushing,
conquering, dominating - all tests of
and proofs of “Manhood.” In many ways
football is a representation of the mind set of military warriors, and we all
admire the military and their mindset. They
protect us and we are grateful. But
football actually is not war, and the brain injuries last a lifetime and
progress to greater and greater damage as ex-players age.
Maybe it’s
time to come up with some new ideas about what it is to be a man, what real courage
is all about, valuing thought and feeling as well as action and will, valuing
mastery but not domination. Actually,
basketball was invented as an alternative to the savagery of football by Dr.
James Naismith over 100 years ago. We could watch that instead?
See the
movie - if you dare. But you may start to wonder how you can enjoy watching men
do so much harm to each other. I know we
have parts of ourselves who a enthralled by watching gladiators fighting to the
death, or Christians being fed to the lions, in the Roman Coliseum, but is that
who we want to be today?
The film
dramatizes the tragic effects of CTE on players. For your reference, the Mayo Clinic lists
these symptoms of CTE:
"Symptoms of CTE are
like those of other conditions that involve progressive loss of function or
structure of nerve cells (neurodegenerative diseases…
Signs and symptoms of
CTE usually begin eight to 10 years after repetitive mild traumatic brain
injury. These include:
·
Difficulty thinking (cognitive impairment)
·
Impulsive behavior
·
Depression or apathy
·
Short-term memory loss
·
Difficulty planning and carrying out tasks (executive function)
·
Emotional instability
·
Substance abuse
·
Suicidal thoughts or behavior
Over time, memory and
executive function may become worse, and other signs and symptoms may develop,
including:
·
Irritability
·
Aggression
·
Speech and language difficulties
·
Motor impairment, such as difficulty walking, tremor, loss of
muscle movement, weakness or rigidity
·
Trouble swallowing (dysphagia)
·
Vision and focusing problems
·
Trouble with sense of smell (olfactory abnormalities)
·
Dementia
Researchers use the
following stages to describe the progression of CTE symptoms:
·
Stage I. Headache, loss of attention and concentration
·
Stage II. Depression, explosivity and short-term memory loss
·
Stage III. Decision-making (executive) dysfunction and cognitive
impairment
·
Stage IV. Dementia, word-finding difficulty and aggression
They have also created
four stages to describe the process of damage to brain tissue.
CTE causes ongoing
pathological changes that once are started, continue to have an effect for
years or decades after the original traumatic brain injury or after an
individual retires from a sport. Symptoms progress throughout an individual's
life.
CTE progresses in two
patterns. In younger people, it may begin with behavior and mood changes,
whereas in older people, it may begin with cognitive problems that progress and
may lead to dementia. It's not known whether there are two different disease
processes or if the process changes over time."
It makes me
wonder about the endless stories of hyper-aggressive behavior of football
players like Ray Rice and O.J. Simpson.
Not to excuse their behavior, but do they suffer from CTE? I would like brain autopsies on them when
they finally pass. I wonder…