I didn’t grow up with a television and too far north to be
affected by the SEC and college football.
I just never understood the appeal, even when my mother started becoming
a fan. Then I met a man who loves the
sport and I promised him that I would give football a try. For two years I followed the sport, was
sitting in front of the television on Sundays, even chose my favorite
team. I studied the game, learned the
rules, rooted for my team all the way to the Super Bowl the first year. The following year, even though my team didn’t
go all the way, I was able to root for the Giants. I am from New York, after all, so why not?
Then, after two years, Rob said it is okay for me not to watch
anymore because I simply wasn’t enjoying the game. I would get very distressed any time I saw one
of the players get hurt. Rob would
reassure me by pointing out when a hurt player returned to the field and tried
to do the same when they did not, when an injury would keep them from playing
for a week or more. We argued about
these things. He would say they get paid
a lot of money. I’d argue that these
young men could not understand the risks of what they were doing. He would say they know they can get
hurt. I would insist that kids in high
school and college think they are invincible, that “it” can’t happen to
them.
We never did reach a détente and I just ignore the game now
altogether. And after reading this book,
I’ll have to really bite my tongue. Here
is the review I shared on amazon.
Concussion by
Jeanne Marie Laskas looks at the work of Dr Bennet Omalu, the forensic
neuropathologist who took the commonly understood idea of boxing’s “punch
drunk” into other fields of full-contact sports, the National Football League,
in particular. His discovery of what he
called CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) continues to have repercussions
in sports.
After writing an article for GQ magazine, Laskas was
encouraged to write a book length version of her exposé. There are times when her book reads more like
journalism than narrative nonfiction.
There are, however, other times when the author humanizes her
story. She does start the book in media
res with Dr Omalu appearing as a witness in court, testifying against his
former mentor, before backtracking to the doctor’s childhood in Nigeria,
education, and how he ended up in America, studying the brains of corpses. While this is a dramatic way to start the
book, Dr Wecht’s appearance in court has nothing to do with Omalu’s research or
the NFL. But you don’t find that out
until the twelfth chapter.
Of course, by then the reader is invested in Omalu’s story. For me, I found myself becoming increasingly
frustrated with the Big Business of the NFL and the ways they manipulated the
public, using their tax-exempt millions to control research, and gradually
admitting Omalu more and more. His
struggles with depression and desire to not merely discover the truth but to
disseminate it, ensuring that those who need to know will know the truth and
full implications of what he has discovered.
He is both humble and determined, willing to take a back seat and let
others speak out.
For all the occasions when Laskas' journalism style distance
the reader from the events on the page, there are moments that are emotionally
surprising, especially the final chapter which serves as the perfect denouement
to a fascinating story. I would love to believe that football fans would read
this book and invest their time and energy into other less brutal forms of
entertainment. I’d love to believe
parents would find the slim chance at fame is not worth the physical risk to
their children. I’d love to believe that
this book, which will soon be a movie, would make a significant difference.
Maybe it didn’t change my opinion of football but maybe it will change
someone’s opinion. I have to believe
that even small ripples of change will have larger, far-reaching effects. Effects that will result in people redefining
what they define as entertaining and not merely in new developments in
protective sports gear.
I really wish this book and the movie will make people
rethink how much they love this so-called sport. Will Smith plays Dr Bennet Omalu. Certainly
that will inspire more people to go see the movie and maybe learn from it. Unfortunately, I suspect that most football
fans will not care because they don’t want to spoil their fun. After all, who cares if young men are being
hurt, possibly irremediably? After all,
if we can’t waste hours staring at the television, cheering on strangers to win
the game at any cost, every Sunday . . . and Monday night . . . and Thursday
night, whatever will we do with ourselves and our time?
What did I do when I stopped watching football? I spent my Sundays reading, writing, drawing,
listening to music, and eating some wonderful meals. And waiting for the season to be over so my
husband and I could get back to watching movies together.
You will find an interview with Dr Bennet Omalu here.
