Omalu's discoveries: In the newly released movie Will Smith portrays a neuropathologist, Dr. Bennet Omalu, argues against one of the biggest national organizations. In the autopsy of Mike Webster, the Pittsburgh Steelers lineman who died of a heart attack, found abnormal proteins in his brain indicating that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a degenerative brain disease found mostly in athletes that have a history of repetitive brain trauma. Almost all athletes that suffer from CTE have endured concussions and weren't given the correct medical diagnosis or treatment. If these concussive blows are not treated properly it can lead to symptoms like depression, drug abuse, suicidal behavior, and mood changes. Omalu then made the connection that these symptoms could be related to professional football players like Dave Duerson who shot himself or Tom McHale who died from a drug overdose. The NFL discredited both his research and reputation for an entire decade, claiming that there was no issue and that each athlete was protected while playing this contact related sport. It took the death of Junior Seau, a linebacker for the New England Patriots, for the NFL to realize how quickly this life threatening problem spiraled out of control. When the husband and father of three was found in his home on May 2, 2012 parts of his brain tissue were given to research which found that he suffered from severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy. During his twenty years in the NFL Seau experienced approximately twenty concussions. After his death his family filed a lawsuit against the NFL proving that the organization didn't provide enough medical care to prevent neurological diseases from occurring like CTE. The plaintiffs argued that the NFL glorified the "brutality and ferocity of professional football, by contending that 'getting your bell rung' or 'getting dinged' is not a serious health concern for the players." 

Terminology: In medical terms a concussion is, "a traumatically induced disturbance of neurological functions, most often the result of a direct blow to the head." They can be caused by multiple factors but the most common are the deceleration of acceleration of the head. When in motion and the head suddenly stops, "the skull stops, but the brain, swimming in spinal fluid, continues forward, sometimes striking the rough inner surfaces of the skull." More often then not acceleration of the head, when the head is abruptly but into motion due to a blindside hit to the body, is how athletes suffer from concussions in football. Concussions are based on a scale ranging from one to three, three being the most severe. A person who has sustained a level one concussion is momentarily confused for a second or so and needs no medical assistance. A level two concussion concussion will consist of a person who has symptoms such as ringing of the ears, amnesia, and nausea. A person with a level three concussion will go unconscious for a period of time and becomes four times more likely to to obtain another concussion compared to those who are concussion-free. 

History: In the 1920's, before medical professionals knew what concussions really consisted off, researchers just defined it as repetitive brain trauma. Neurologists understood that multiple blows to the skull could lead to risk of memory impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease. The numerous deaths of professional football players allowed doctors to coin the term chronic traumatic encephalopathy. When autopsies were done to all of these individuals pathologists saw an enormous amount of an abnormal protein called tau. Over time this protein accumulates in the brain and forms giant clumps which disrupt the brain's function. Just like a concussion CTE has three stages and as one increases in the stages the symptoms get increasingly worse. 

New Rules: Once the NFL realized how much was at stake for both their players and their organization, they enacted many new rules to try and limit the amount of neurological diseases that arise in their players. In 2010, multiple rules were enacted immediately such as that when one player looses their helmet the referee must instantly blow their whistle and end the play. Another major change that was applied to the game was that players is prohibited from, "launching' himself off the ground and using his helmet to strike a player in a defenseless posture in the head or neck."  Athletic trainers were also put on the sidelines to make sure that if a player were to get injured that they could indicate signs of a concussion. To make sure that these rules were taken seriously Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, issued a memo to all of the times stating that if any player violates these newly enacted rules that there will be severe consequences such as suspensions. 
