League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis
- Episode aired Oct 8, 2013
- TV-PG
- 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
330
YOUR RATING
An investigation of the health crisis threatening NFL players and the long-term fortunes of football.An investigation of the health crisis threatening NFL players and the long-term fortunes of football.An investigation of the health crisis threatening NFL players and the long-term fortunes of football.
Photos
Will Lyman
- Self - Narrator
- (voice)
Beth Wilkinson
- Self - NFL's attorney
- (archive footage)
Mickey Collins
- Self - University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- (as Dr. Mickey Collins)
Ann McKee
- Self - Neuropathologist, BU CTE Center
- (as Ann McKee MD)
Julian Bailes
- Self - Team Physician, Steelers, 1988-97
- (as Julian Bailes MD)
Mike Webster
- Self - Pittsburgh Steelers
- (archive footage)
Robert Stern
- Self - Neuropsychologist, Boston University
- (as Robert Stern PhD)
Storyline
Did you know
- Quotes
Bennet Omalu - Medical Examiner: Bennett, do you know the implications of what you're doing? If 10% of mothers in this country would begin to perceive football as a dangerous sport, that is the end of football.
- ConnectionsFeatures NFL Monday Night Football (1970)
Featured review
When your dream betrays you and the NFL covers it up.
The most heartbreaking, tragic finding to come from this documentary? Shattered dreams. But worse, dreams of betrayal since the very dream these players had -- eventually destroyed them.
Many of these players dreamed of becoming football stars from an early age. And, those that played from age 9 or 10 were the most stunning because not surprising, they died at such young ages.
For example, in 2010, Nathan Stiles, just 17 years old, took a hit that would mark his last game due to a history of subconcussive and concussive blows to the head. This poor kid died hours after his high school homecoming football game. He was later diagnosed with Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) a brain condition linked to repeated head injuries and blows to the head. Sadly, CTE can't be diagnosed until death.
Hence, this is not just an NFL crisis (though it was the NFL that refused to acknowledge the link between repeated concussions and degenerative brain disease).
Witness -- Owen Thomas, who at age 21 was discovered to have an advanced case of CTE yet had no history of concussions (Thomas took his own life in April 2010). Thomas was the first non-professional football player to be diagnosed with the disease.
CTE lesions show up in various places on the brain, which manifest its effects differently. As Dr. Ann McKee, a neurologist who studies brains of football players notes, "Different parts of the brain control different tasks, from decision-making and emotional response to controlling anger and violence." So while some players simply drift into diseases such as dementia, others become violent to others or to themselves. For example, suicide victim Aaron Hernandez was just 27 years old when Dr. McKee found he had Stage 3 CTE. She had never seen such severe damage in a brain younger than 46 years old.
Other players that couldn't cope took their own lives (starting with the tragic story of Mike Webster and Terry Long, but include players such as NFL wide receiver Charles Johnson).
49ers player, Phillip Adams, had no previous criminal record or any history of violence. His autopsy revealed an advanced case of CTE.
Junior Seau was a legendary NFL linebacker, who spent most of his career with the San Diego Chargers. Seau tragically took his own life with a gunshot wound to the chest in 2012 when he was just 43 years old (a year later, it was revealed that he suffered from an advanced case of CTE).
Jovan Belcher (age 25) fatally shot his 22-year-old girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, then drove to the Kansas City Chiefs' practice facility and shot himself in the parking lot. After an autopsy, he was diagnosed with CTE.
Kenny McKinley (age 23) was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. A year later he was found dead in his home from a gunshot wound due to a severe case of depression related to the injuries suffered during his rookie season.
Though this crisis emerged as early as 1994, the NFL refused to take meaningful action. Finally, in 2015-16 the league acknowledged that a problem exists. Throughout the years, their spokespeople, lawyers and of course Roger Goodell, insisted the sample sizes were too small. Tell that to the families of Mike Webster, Terry Long, Phillip Adams, Junior Seau, Kenny McKinley and Jovan Belcher.
Many of these players dreamed of becoming football stars from an early age. And, those that played from age 9 or 10 were the most stunning because not surprising, they died at such young ages.
For example, in 2010, Nathan Stiles, just 17 years old, took a hit that would mark his last game due to a history of subconcussive and concussive blows to the head. This poor kid died hours after his high school homecoming football game. He was later diagnosed with Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) a brain condition linked to repeated head injuries and blows to the head. Sadly, CTE can't be diagnosed until death.
Hence, this is not just an NFL crisis (though it was the NFL that refused to acknowledge the link between repeated concussions and degenerative brain disease).
Witness -- Owen Thomas, who at age 21 was discovered to have an advanced case of CTE yet had no history of concussions (Thomas took his own life in April 2010). Thomas was the first non-professional football player to be diagnosed with the disease.
CTE lesions show up in various places on the brain, which manifest its effects differently. As Dr. Ann McKee, a neurologist who studies brains of football players notes, "Different parts of the brain control different tasks, from decision-making and emotional response to controlling anger and violence." So while some players simply drift into diseases such as dementia, others become violent to others or to themselves. For example, suicide victim Aaron Hernandez was just 27 years old when Dr. McKee found he had Stage 3 CTE. She had never seen such severe damage in a brain younger than 46 years old.
Other players that couldn't cope took their own lives (starting with the tragic story of Mike Webster and Terry Long, but include players such as NFL wide receiver Charles Johnson).
49ers player, Phillip Adams, had no previous criminal record or any history of violence. His autopsy revealed an advanced case of CTE.
Junior Seau was a legendary NFL linebacker, who spent most of his career with the San Diego Chargers. Seau tragically took his own life with a gunshot wound to the chest in 2012 when he was just 43 years old (a year later, it was revealed that he suffered from an advanced case of CTE).
Jovan Belcher (age 25) fatally shot his 22-year-old girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, then drove to the Kansas City Chiefs' practice facility and shot himself in the parking lot. After an autopsy, he was diagnosed with CTE.
Kenny McKinley (age 23) was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. A year later he was found dead in his home from a gunshot wound due to a severe case of depression related to the injuries suffered during his rookie season.
Though this crisis emerged as early as 1994, the NFL refused to take meaningful action. Finally, in 2015-16 the league acknowledged that a problem exists. Throughout the years, their spokespeople, lawyers and of course Roger Goodell, insisted the sample sizes were too small. Tell that to the families of Mike Webster, Terry Long, Phillip Adams, Junior Seau, Kenny McKinley and Jovan Belcher.
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