‘Concussion’ comes to theaters, football team split on if they’ll watch
Photo from the official "Concussion" Facebook page.
One week after "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" made more than $500 million on its opening weekend, "Concussion" hit theaters in time for Christmas Day movie-goers.
While members of the Chippewa football team don’t have much free time before the Dec. 28 Quick Lane Bowl, they had varying sentiments on if they’d watch the Will Smith drama, based off a true story.
Head Coach John Bonamego said he plans on seeing the film at some point, although has a few reservations.
“I am (going to see it), just because I’d like to get some of the backstory on it,” he said. “It is a movie. There’s a difference between a movie and a documentary. We all have to keep that in mind as we watch that. Some of the things may be dramatized a little bit.”
The movie brings the nationwide epidemic of head injuries in football into the limelight. It focuses on Bennet Omalu, a forensic neuropathologist that exposed a condition he found in the brains of deceased NFL players called CTE, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Some former NFL players were given access to an early screening of the movie earlier this month, with some being moved to tears.
Quarterback Cooper Rush said he’s heard a lot about it, but isn’t too interested in seeing it. Center Nick Beamish said he doesn’t plan on seeing it either, although said he likes Will Smith, so it “might be pretty good.”
Wide receiver Jesse Kroll said he’s not sure how he feels about the movie, but will likely see it.
Detroit Lions Head Coach Jim Caldwell said at the Quick Lane Bowl Media Day Dec. 9 he would see it and leave it up to the players if they'll see it or not. Bonamego said he would encourage his players to watch.
Also staring Alec Baldwin and Luke Wilson, the Columbia Pictures film shows Omalu’s struggle as the NFL allegedly suppressed his research on the brain damage suffered by football players.
Concussions and football have been a hot topic in the sports world, even with the improvements that have been made in concussion diagnosis and awareness.
“It is an issue that we think we’ve learned a lot about over the last half-decade,” Bonamego said. “It’s a very serious issue. I believe as a sport, starting with the leadership in the NFL and trickling down to the NCAA, we’ve taken preventative steps to address it and I know it’s something that’s going to be continued to be looked at.”
Kroll said the issue of head injuries is something he tries not to think about.
“Personally for me, it’s not really something that I worry about, because when you’re out there playing, you’re thinking about playing the game,” Kroll said. “You’re not worried about getting hurt. You can’t at this level. It’s not really something I think about very often, to be honest.”
Bonamego said he doesn’t think the sport will ever fully be rid of head injuries, but they can be reduced.
“It’s a contact sport, it’s a collision sport. I don’t think it’s something we’ll totally ever eliminate from it,” he said. “But there’s a lot that can be done and has been done in terms of the rules and education and protocol and how we treat someone after we suspect that they sustain a concussion.”
Bonamego’s seen major improvements since his playing days as a Chippewa wide receiver in the mid-1980s.
“I think that the surfaces are faster. Even though the equipment is lighter, it’s significantly better,” Bonamego said. “We have bigger, stronger, faster athletes. Bigger, stronger, faster and cause greater collisions.”
"Concussion" hit theaters on Friday and will have at least four showings a day at Mount Pleasant’s Celebration Cinema through Jan. 7.
