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Will Smith is starring in, Concussion, a movie about the dangers of head trauma in football. The film depicts the story of former Pittsburgh Steeler, Mike Webster, who passed at the age of 50 after experiencing dementia.
Smith plays the role of Dr. Bennet Omalu who actually discovered the dangers of repeated head injuries. The film is based on Omalu’s findings of CTE, or better known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, and how it can effect athletes long term. Smith considers himself a “football dad,” and the statistics about head trauma and football really shocked him. “The thing that was a revelation for me with this is that it’s not really the big hits that are the problem, but more of the issue is the repetitive head trauma,” Smith stated.
Smith wanted to do the film to help spread the word about the dangers of repeated head trauma. Concussion is set hit theaters Christmas day. You can read more of what Smith had to say about the film here.
