US medic warns future of game now in jeopardy
THE doctor who exposed how American footballers suffer with CTE fears the future of soccer is in danger unless it addresses the risk of brain injury to players.
Bennet Omalu, who was played by Will Smith in 2015 blockbuster Concussion, uncovered the problem after performing an autopsy on former Pittsburg Steelers player Mike Webster, who died in 2002 following years of mental illness.
Omalu published his findings in the journal Neurosurgery in 2005, believing the NFL’s doctors would welcome his study and use it to make the game safer. Instead, they dismissed his research as “a failure” and demanded he retract it.
He fought for families until 2009, when the NFL finally accepted his research and the problem. The move has opened the floodgates for a wave of compensation claims by former players.
Speaking before the start of the new season, Omalu said: “Once parents begin to tell their children, ‘If you play football, you may not be as smart as you should be’, that’s all you need. That’s the end of the sport. It needs to be modified and made safer.”
PIONEER Bennet Omalu