Football’s Secret Savior
Stark white flashes propelled from cameras as Dr. Bennet Omalu stepped onto the stage. He was finally presenting his findings on central traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease that could be caused by head injuries in football. Lights cascaded down on his tailored suit and the air gradually quieted as he began to speak. He would change the world’s perception of football forever with every single word he spoke. No longer would people just see football as a fun sport to watch and play, but a sport that could ruin the lives of all that graced the field. Omalu would expose the wrongdoings of the NFL in its misconduct regarding concussions and he would cement himself as one of the most important figures in football as he raised awareness about CTE.
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Dr. Omalu’s eyes trotted from the computer screen to the ceiling. His eyes, tired from watching hours of football footage, tried their best to rejuvenate. Omalu remained frustrated as he rewinded the video. BOOM! Somehow this hit was even more gruesome than the last one he viewed. In this video, two player’s heads clashed like two freight trains. After the blow, one player laid on the soft kelly green turf with no movement for one excruciating minute. As the player got up, he stumbled ever so cautiously to the sideline, groggy from the heavy impact. Omalu’s brain ached in pain for the player. Despite years of being outrageously ignored for his research on concussions, Omalu couldn’t help but hope that one day the truth would come out of the darkness.
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It was obvious that his discovery of CTE was connected to football. He knew it and he knew others would too if they had all the information. Football players were constantly pounding their fragile skulls against one another. This left large room for brain damage that carried unfortunate side effects. Omalu believed there was no such thing as a safe blow to the head and when one experienced repeated blows to one’s head, it increased the risk of permanent brain damage (Seifert).
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Omalu’s mind rushed back to when it first examined Mike Webster’s brain. Webster's brain was what sparked Omalu’s research into brain damage and football. He remembered feeling the cold breeze from the air conditioner trickle on his skin. His hands meticulously and melodically examined Webster’s body. He made sure his cuts were precise and delicate. Omalu liked to give every body he saw the respect he knew it deserved (Concussion 2015). Buzz. With an electric saw in his hand, Omalu strategically cut a cap out of the skull and pulled it off. He carefully reached for the delicate brain.
While examining Webster’s brain, Omalu was hit with a brick wall of perplexity. Webster’ s brain did not make sense. As Omalu’s eyes scanned over Webster’s brain, he discovered a buildup of protein called tau. Scientific studies showed that abnormalities in tau was found in elderly patients with Alzheimer’s (Laskas). Mike Webster was relatively healthy when he passed away at the early age of 50. Omalu could not piece together how Webster’s brain had come to such a state.
Years later the severity of what Webster went through was publicized. After a successful career as who many considered the greatest center in football history, Webster began to disintegrate in health. His behavior became erratic. He suffered from memory problems, sometimes sleeping at the side of the road. It was a drastic change for a man who had a photographic memory. Omalu remembered finding marks on Webster’s body from tasering himself. Webster’s son, Collin, in an interview, recalled that his dad would taster himself around 10 times a day in an attempt to calm his nerves. (Golden).
Omalu’s strong curiosity and everlasting desire to tell Webster’s story led him to continue researching the matter. After countless months of hard work and dedication, Omalu published his findings on CTE. With it came strong denials from the National Football League. In the research paper, Omalu concluded that his case study did not confirm that was a link between professional football and CTE, but it did indicate that there was a “need for comprehensive cognitive and autopsy based research on long term postneurotrauamtic sequelae of professional American football” (Omalu).
When his paper was published in July 2005, the NFL’s Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) Committee demanded a retraction claiming Omalu’s research was flawed and refused to acknowledge that there was any connection between football and the brain damage found in former players. It was rumored in multiple reports that “beginning in the late 1990’s, the NFL ignored the mounting evidence regarding the long-term danger of concussions and tried to refute emerging science with questionable research of its own” (Mihoces).
Omalu stood in loud silence for the next couple of years, never backing down from his claims. The NFL was trying to walk on perfect ground, no cracks or imperfections in its reputation as America’s sport. Little did the organization know that that the ground would crumble beneath its feet. With Omalu’s research at hand, the National Institutes Health wanted to launch a brain disease project with the NFL. The NFL tried to redirect the researchers to be more favorable toward the league and when its ruse did not work, the NFL backed out of its agreement to fund the study. This led to a Congressional investigation and reports came out later stating the NFL continuously tried to control concussion research (Benes). It was evident that the NFL wanted to keep the truth about CTE under wraps even if it jeopardized the health of its players, players that the league profited off of.
No matter how hard Omalu fought with his sword of research, he was no match for the green eyed, power hungry monster, the National Football League. The NFL wanted to play Russian roulette with anyone that tried its hand with the topic of concussions. With pressures from Congress, however, the NFL lost its battle and was forced to finally give CTE the proper attention and treatment it deserved. The NFL asked Omalu to speak at a conference regarding his research on CTE and its connection with football.
At the conference, Omalu felt a sudden wave of relief wash over his mind. His conscious and frustrations cleared. Bits of information swirled in the air and grasped on to all those that listened. The message poignant. The truth finally revealed itself to the public and more importantly, the truth revealed itself to every single NFL player who risked his health playing the game he loved. Omalu started a fire. A fire that sparked research in head injuries in football. A fire that denied the NFL any more opportunities to be negligent in their responsibility to protect its players.
Without Omalu, it is questionable if the topic of concussions would have been brought up in the time period it did. Because of Omalu, the true colors of the NFL flew brightly in the eyes of the public. The NFL acted irresponsibly and selfishly in its conduct regarding CTE, so much so that it was reported in July 2011 that 75 former NFL players sued the NFL and its helmet suppliers Riddell, claiming the unlawful concealment of the harmful effects of concussions. A month later, seven retired players came forth and sued the NFL for “training players to hit with their heads, failing to properly treat them for concussions and trying to conceal any links between football and brain injuries” (Weinbrecht). Omalu started the discussion about CTE and forever changed the rhetoric of concussions for the best.
The sky became quite bluer and clearer once Omalu stepped out of the conference and into the daylight. No longer did the sky feel worry as the truth tumbled out to the world. It felt a wave of relief and allowed the clouds to depart. The bricks of worry and frustration detached from Omalu’s body. The sun gleamed on to his face and its warmth radiated on his skin. There he stood, a sense of calm serenading him. He smiled. He knew the sport would now have to transfigure itself.
The question remains how the NFL will change the sport to be safer and meet its obligations to its players. Omalu’s research instigated many efforts in trying to revolutionize the sport. One of which came from the Seattle Seahawks with their style of tackling called “Hawk tackling.” This style of tackling mimicked rugby style tackling where a tackler kept his head to the side while driving his shoulder into the chest or thigh area of his opponent (Keilman). Many believed this would reduce the number of head to head impacts and therefore reduce the likelihood of concussions and CTE. Other actions have taken place such as studies on how to make helmets more effective. An example of this would be Visis Zero1, a helmet that has a larger surface area and a flexible outer shell that gives a car like bumper during a collision (Pappas). Omalu’s research on concussions allowed for progress to hopefully make football safer. Without him, these advancements would not have taken place.
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“TOUCHDOWN!” a 7 year old blue eyed boy yelled as he made a leaping grab for the worn out football. His toes skid across the freshly mowed grass as he tumbled. His teammates piled on top of him once he got to his feet. Laugher spilled out from him and spread across the crowd. He smiled to his parents. His gleaming crooked smile caught the eye of Omalu who was sitting in his car observing the game. Omalu placed his right hand on the side of his freshly shaven face. He had just gotten off work and couldn’t help but stop to watch the game. He never could take his eyes off football due the knowledge he now processed. Maybe, Omalu thought, by the time he’s old enough to play in the NFL, he will be safer with new research and development. Never for a single second would he or I have to worry about an unknown future filled with concussion related symptoms. Instead, he’ll have a future where that smile is always plastered on his face.
Dr. Bennet Omalu changed the sport of football forever. His research cut through the denial of the NFL and brought forth the issue of concussions and CTE. He is one of the reasons that football players are more cautious about their health and why the NFL has made efforts to make the sport safer. Because of Dr. Bennet Omalu the sport of football will become safer not only for current NFL players, but also for all who choose to play in the future. He is the secret savior of the NFL and of football.
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Works Cited
Benes, Ross. “How the NFL Tried (and Failed) to Sway a Government Study on Concussions.”
Esquire, Esquire, 11 Oct. 2017, www.esquire.com/sports/news/a45145/nfl-government-concussions/.
Gordon, Meryl. “Before 'Concussion': Mike Webster's Shattered Life.” Reader's Digest,
2003, www.rd.com/health/conditions/mike-webster-brain-injury/. Accessed 16 Sept. 2017.
Keilman, John. “New tackling methods aim to make football safer, but proof still
lacking.” Chicagotribune.com, 22 Aug. 2015, www.chicagotribune.com/sports/highschool/ct-football-tackling-safety-met-20150821-story.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.
Laskas, Jeanne Marie. “The Brain That Sparked the NFL's Concussion Crisis.” The Atlantic,
Atlantic Media Company, 2 Dec. 2015, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/12/the-nfl-players-brain-that-changed-the-history-of-the-concussion/417597/.
Mihoces, Gary. “Documentary: For years, NFL ignored concussion evidence.” USA Today,
Gannett Satellite Information Network, 7 Oct. 2013, www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/10/07/frontline-documentary-nfl-concussions/2939747/
Omalu, Bennet I., et al. “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in a National Football League
Player.” Neurosurgery, 2005, doi:10.1097/00006123-200605000-00036.
Pappas, Stephanie . “The More We Learn About CTE, The Harder It Is For Football To Stay The
Same.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Oct. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-more-we-learn-about-cte-the-harder-it-is-for-football-to-stay-the-same_us_59df929ee4b00abf36470055.
Seifer, Kevin. “Dr. Bennet Omalu: CTE obsession obscuring truth about brain health of football
players.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 4 Aug. 2017, www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20245394/dr-bennet-omalu-says-obsession-cte-obscuring-larger-truth-brain-health-football-players.
Weinbrecht, Ashleigh. "The connection between concussions and chronic traumatic
encephalopathy (CTE) in professional athletics: a necessary change in the 'sports culture' in light of legal barriers." Journal of Law in Society, vol. 14, no. 1, 2013, p. 309+. Health Reference Center Academic, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=HRCA&sw=w&u=txshracd2598&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA367300959&asid=8e0b2670250e1dec4beedff749066d5e. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.