USA Africa Dialogue Series - Concussion: 2015: Trailer: Will Smith as Dr. Bennett Omalu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk-1TLVUPZk

Concussion: Trailer: Will Smith as Dr. Bennett Omalu

"It stars Will Smith as Bennet Omalu, the real Pittsburgh forensic pathologist who first discovered a neurodegenerative disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brains of football players. CTE is the result of repeated brain trauma over time and causes depression, dementia, and other behavioral changes. Omalu's 2002 finding — and the subsequent discovery of CTE in dozens of deceased football players — has transformed the football world, leading many to question whether football can ever be a truly safe sport." Joseph Stromberg

How Bennet Omalu discovered football's dangers for the brain

"For nearly a century, doctors knew that boxers who were repeatedly punched in the head could develop symptoms of severe brain damage, eventually leading to dementia. But it wasn't until Omalu examined the brain of former Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster (who'd suffered from severe depression and dementia before dying from a heart attack at age 50) that anyone suspected the same thing could happen to football players.

When Omalu cut slices from Webster's brain and looked at them under a microscope, he was surprised to see tangled proteins and other characteristic signs of CTE. A year later, Omalu examined the brain of Terry Long — another Steelers legend, who'd killed himself at age 45 by drinking antifreeze — and saw the same picture. "This stuff should not be in the brain of a 45-year-old man," Omalu later said. "This looks more like a 90-year-old brain with advanced Alzheimer's." -Joseph Stromberg

Funmi Tofowomo Okelola

-In the absence of greatness, mediocrity thrives. 

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