Synthesis Essay On Concussions By Janie Marie

Living in the United States, boys between the ages of eight through eighteen have more than likely played or been exposed to football at some point in their life. Football is such a popular sport in America that it even has its own day of the week where millions tune into watch. But what if the average American became more aware of the health risks that come along with playing football? In the book Concussion by Jeanne Marie, the reader learns the important role Dr. Omalu has when former Steelers player Mike Webster passed away at just fifty years old. Despite the fact that Dr. Omalu’s discoveries of how repeated concussions can affect the brain and alter mental health, his findings were dismissed by the National Football League(NFL), proving …show more content…
“Was this football league paying scientist to trick people into believing players like Mike Webster did not suffer from brain damage from football?”(Jeanne Laskas Page 159). The NFL put aside the health of their players to ensure the corporation would make financial interests. Anything that would take away from the NFL making money was no good for them. Uncovering the hidden truths of the NFL was astounding when it came to what was already known prior to Omalu’s findings. The NFL had been aware of the concussions but did not do anything to help their players. Team doctors were told to sign off on players health to make sure they were able to play in the next game no matter what. Team doctors had to do whatever it took to make sure players are in the next game. With concussions being basically an invisible problem, not a physical injury, it was easy to cover up the problem from the public. Greed has played a strong part for why recognizing the dangers of concussions took longer than anticipated for Dr. Omalu. The NFL believed they were essentially stronger than science and disavowed Dr. Omalu’s findings as false. The NFL did not want to be associated with recent deaths of Steeler players and furthermore did not want football to have any relation as the cause of their …show more content…
Omalu. Dr. Omalu’s discoveries have changed our thoughts on the dangers of concussions and how we can keep ourselves safe, especially on the football field. “Omalu stared at Mike Webster’s brain. He kept thinking, How did this big athletic man end up so crazy in the head? He was thinking about football and brain trauma” Omalu shared in an interview titled, “How One Doctor Changed Football Forever.” The NFL accepted the science behind the diagnosis of CTE and that played an affected on the sport. With the discoveries made may sports not just football, have taken the initiative to prevent their players from hits to the head. Dr. Omalu forever change they was sports are played and the importance of concussion