Listen to my WCCO radio interview with Roshini:
Last night I had the chance to see an advance screening of the movie “Concussion” starring Will Smith. It was an absolutely wonderful movie, and I am hopeful that Will Smith receives Best Actor for his role as Dr. Bennett Omalu. His performance was outstanding!
The movie sheds a lot of light on concussions and the impact that repetitive head trauma has on our brains. In the movie, Dr. Omalu shares how many other animals, such as a Woodpecker, have protective barriers built-in to keep their brains safe as they peck on wood. Humans, on the other hand, have no protective barriers. Our brains are floating in a sack of fluid inside our skull, and can easily make impact with our skull without even hitting our head. It’s important to understand that every concussion is a brain injury, to some extent.
What really struck me is how many NFL players have committed suicide because they simply can no longer deal with the cognitive challenges they are facing, such as failing memory and losing the ability to think clearly or come up with the correct word. (side note: I had to lean over and ask my friend what that thing was that he was looking at slides with….. I couldn’t for the life of me come up with the word “microscope”).
It made me very sad to see the way the NFL treated Dr. Omalu, trying to tarnish his reputation and threatening him. At the end of the movie, it was interesting to see that the NFL settled with about 5,000 players who filed lawsuits, with the stipulation that the NFL wouldn’t have to reveal what they new and how long they actually were aware of it.
I encourage you to get out to see the movie, it opens nationwide on Christmas Day. It is a must-see movie for all parents with children in sports. I am by no means saying that you shouldn’t allow your child to play sports, but I do encourage you to understand the risks and the warning signs, and know when to pull your child out of a game/sport. We only get one brain!
You can watch my short video review of the movie below.
(Note: in the video I say “Will Smith only has about 3 minutes of air time”…. I meant to say “Luke Wilson” …… silly TBI brain!!”)
Additional side note: this is the very first movie i’ve seen in the theater since my accident 22 months ago. I was nervous that it would cause me dizziness and I would have to leave, however, I am delighted to inform you that there wasn’t much in the movie to trigger my dizzy issues! There were about 3 moments when I had to look away, otherwise I greatly enjoyed watching it on the big screen!