LANSING – Tyler Kumpf played football, Gregory Roy didn't.
But both had a similar reaction to seeing the movie "Concussion."
"It was a definite eye-opener," said Roy, a Michigan State sophomore from Ft. Worth, Texas, who played basketball at Adrian College last year and watched the movie last week at NCG Eastwood Cinemas in Lansing. "It was interesting to see the impact a concussion or brain injuries have on the lives of current players and players in the future."
"Concussion," which is based on a true story and opened Christmas Day, stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian forensic pathologist who discovered Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in the brain of Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame lineman Mike Webster while conducting an autopsy in 2002. The movie details the battle between Omalu and the NFL, which contends that playing football doesn't carry the risk of brain damage.
"It kind of opened my eyes because I have a kid that plays football," said Kumpf, a college basketball official from Paoli, Ind., who watched the movie Wednesday night at NCG, "but I know our coaching staff teaches fundamentals and proper technique and does their best to limit head-to-head contact."
Ethan Webster started playing football in third grade and is now a junior quarterback at St. Johns High School. He said the movie won't change his mind about playing football, but acknowledged it could have a different impact on others.
"It was interesting and it's obviously informative, but I wouldn't think it changed my opinion if I want to play football or not," he said. "Obviously the things that happened are bad, but I don't foresee myself playing that long."
Dr. Stephen Bloom, medical director of the Sports Concussion Program at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids, watched an advance screening of the movie last week and called it an "a-ha" moment for athletes and coaches[1]. The reaction from NFL players, who can see the film for free by presenting their NFL Players Association card at Cinemark theaters, has varied.
"I see a concussion movie every Sunday," Seattle Seahawks defensive back Richard Sherman told reporters Wednesday. "Don't need to go to the theater."
New York Jets lineman D'Brickashaw Ferguson detailed his reaction to the movie in an article for Sports Illustrated last week.
"After learning all of this," Ferguson wrote, "I feel a bit betrayed by the people or committees put in place by the league who did not have my best interests at heart."
Ferguson acknowledges that if he could do it all over again he would, but questions whether he would let his child play football. Questions surrounding the safety of the sport persist and have led to changes in how players practice and hit, from the youth level to the NFL.
Kumpf, 38, played high school football in Indiana and Missouri and said he likely suffered a concussion once, but it was never diagnosed and he continued to play.
"It is a violent sport," he said, "but if education and fundamentals and technique are coached and coached correctly, I think it can help prevent (concussions), maybe not 100 percent."
Hillsdale High School football coach Marc Lemerand hasn't see "Concussion," but watched the PBS FRONTLINE documentary "League of Denial," which details how the NFL ignored the mounting science linking football to brain damage and used its power to try and silence scientists.
"High school football is just not the same as that," Lemerand said. "There's obviously a risk, but there's a risk with everything you do in life. You try to be as educated as you can, and you can't live your life in fear.
"I think there's value in what's taught in football, especially high school football, and I think it's as safe as we can make it right now."
Matt Wenzel covers sports for the Jackson Citizen Patriot and MLive.com. Contact him at mwenzel2@mlive.com[2] or follow him on Twitter[3].
References
- ^ called it an "a-ha" moment for athletes and coaches (www.mlive.com)
- ^ mwenzel2@mlive.com (www.mlive.com)
- ^ Twitter (twitter.com)
