Iron Mike Webster: Patient Zero in the NFL's "League of Denial" (Part 1 of 9) | FRONTLINE
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
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“At What Price Glory?”: When legendary Pittsburgh Steeler and NFL pro football Hall of Famer Mike Webster died at the age of 50, his autopsy revealed something doctors had never seen before in football players: evidence of serious brain damage. Dr. Bennet Omalu, a stranger to the NFL, told FRONTLINE he was surprised by the league’s response.
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Concussions are scary as hell. I no longer regret quitting football.
Good call I'm surprised to read of college football players killing themselves to later find out they had CTE so young already.
I’m not scared about concussions. I lead with my head sometimes. I honestly don’t care
Matt Beeman I care about my future. I just want to play football and not worry about it
@@jakebru3367 Damn man it looks like you have CTE already
PAPA BEAR I don’t
Dr. Bennet Omalu = Nigerian-born, American hero.
SCE2AUX of coarse. American Hero. This comment from a White American citizen born in Seattle 1979.....As a doctor show me your results. I’ll believe you. 🤷🏼♂️
@@assjulio79 🔬🧠
This guy sustained nearly 70,000 blows to his head. Absolutely insane.
Over* 70,000
So did my pecker but it still works.
That movie broke my heart as I loved and idolized Webster, Long, Strelzek and admire Omalu for his professionalism and character.
All the comments here about "oh football is a dangerous sport and players know what they're getting into and choose it because they get millions of dollars for it." Is just flat out stupid! The whole problem is that they don't know what they're getting into at all because the NFL has made serious efforts to hide this information. With cigarettes, we give people the free choice to smoke because there are very explicit and transparent warning labels clearly informing the consumers of potential health risks, and if they want to smoke despite that that's their choice. But the NFL has done the exact opposite! Not only are they not being transparent about the potential health risks of their product, they've made serious efforts to hide it! If they overtly informed the players about the potential risks of CTE before they signed their contracts, none of this would be a problem.
+Ezra Yao True, but only up to a few years ago. Now, players know that not only are they risking a life of horrible pain after they retire, but they know the risk to their brain. Just like today's smokers know the risk of lung cancer.
Parents should just say not to tackle football. Watching 2nd graders play in full football regalia is ridiculous. Flag football only.
+Ezra Yao yepp trie which is why they were terrified when broland retired
...and soccer there are more ankle and knee injuries than football, so put them in front of the computer to die of obesity. Cant win.
Also NFL players aren't manufactured out of thin air. It starts when they are young Pop Warner to high school to college. By the time they get to the NFL the damage is already there.
@@nellgwenn YES...GREAT point!! Even autopsies of High School players' Brains shows 21% early CTE...and, there are Millions of those Boys. By College-it's 92%!! In the NFL-it's basically ALL of them (except maybe the Kickers.) The fact that Mike played for eighteen years in the League (Incredible!) is-ironically-irrelevant. Hernandez had Stage Three disease "after" only a few years of playing. He certainly would have had damage by his senior year in College.
As a 10-12 year old child, I was at those games you see in this film. I remember it fondly and looking up to Mike Webster, Franco, Bradshaw, Ham, Greene, Rocky, Stallworth and Swann. So sad. I hope they develop a test to find CTE while a person is still alive.
Not Jack Lambert though?
Dane Potmo Yes, Jack too. I forgot about him.
christschool And Mel Blount. He needs mentioned.
Dane Potmo Damn, I keep forgetting. Yes, Blount was a monster.
They had so many great players it's hard to keep track of.
You're going to see more players coming from the extremely poor classes as middle-class families will keep their kids from playing for fears. People with nothing to lose will take up the game. A modern gladiator sport.
Janet G What's the problem if they do it voluntarily?
And like the gladiators the glory is short lived and for most soon forgotten.
+Brittany Wiggins Because no caring parent would voluntarily sign their kid up to be steadily and irreversibly degenerated into a state of confusion, anger, depression, and physical agony. And because the youth of high school/college makes you think you'll be okay, regardless. The allure of being excellent, of being rewarded and valued and admired is extremely compelling even in adulthood, never mind in younger years. Adults should be the stewards of kids. Unfortunately, many recruiters and corporate heads are not willing to do something about the systematic destruction of athletes who are - ultimately - someone's child.
+mara.iara > "Because no caring parent would voluntarily sign their kid up to be steadily and irreversibly degenerated into a state of confusion, anger, depression, and physical agony."
You underestimate the narcissism of most middle class parents these days. As much as they may "care" about their kids, the observable fact remains that, in a society utterly obsessed with sports (it's a virtual religion), they care even more about the *reflected glory* that seeing their offspring become football stars allows them to enjoy. It's the "stage mother" principle -- whereby over-the-hill, emotionally insecure parents vicariously live out their own unrealized dreams through their children -- applied to football.
SingleTax I'm not underestimating anything. You just quoted me - I said _caring_ parents. There's no such thing as a narcissistic caring parent.
A coworker of mine whos young son is very athletic. He preferred contact sports like football. It was this episode that freaked her out just later to try and convince her son to look at other sport like baseball or basketball as an alternative. He was not happy about it at first, but now enjoys baseball.
I had a friend of mine back in high school who went and tried out for the football team one weekend. When asked how his tryout went, he said he got his bell rung during that time. Needless to say, he said that all it took was that one hit to the head and that was it and he went on to join the basketball team instead.
@@apr8189 smart friend
lol so soft
@@littleriverpodcast9955you'll be all alone when the impact of cte comes into effect
@@littleriverpodcast9955 smart. Kids that play football young become learning disabled.
The fact that people can still deny the AMAZING work done by Dr. Omalu is shocking. The film with Will Smith was good despite some dramatic liberties but it is genuinely sad. These men deserve better. If someone sustains a real injury, TAKE THEM OUT OF THE GAME. I am not saying ban football but these athletes need to be looked after. Cared for. Not exploited.
Ban people who commit needlessly violent tackles for longer periods of time, not just for the rest of the game, it's like correct tackling form doesn't exist or something since most players and even coaches don't seem to care when someone leads with their head, they just hit for fun and don't see the consequences in it that's the problem.
This certainly deserves more attention. Probably it would be better if Frontline uploaded it in one piece instead of 9.
oblivionzzzmike It's liberal propaganda. Another attempt to smear this great American sport.
+Brittany Wiggins 100% agreed
+oblivionzzzmike football is dangerous... = 0... how is that news?
One comment is a troll, the other is just your average idiot. Can you guys guess which is which?
BlackBeard23456 neckbeard #9 million and 2... nice another hipster
Watched this guys movie Concusion. I recommend all of you to see it, it's a great movie!
agree saw it yesterday
yeah I saw it was interesting but quite sad at the same time
+Blister Brown I saw it yesterday. awesome film. I think it's all downhill from now for the NFL until they found a new helmet to protect the head or treatment for CTE. If not, I think Baseball will take over like it used to be in America.
+Blister Brown I agree entirely. If the NFL doesn't do right by these player (former AND current), they deserve to go under.
is soccer safer than this i would assume so
Like it or not Bennett Omalu has changed how football is played, how it is studied when players retire, changed how they did concussions, how the NFL can't keep denying concussions anymore. Omalu didn't have to use get tissues samples from Mike Websters brain, but he did and because he found the tau protein and went further it changed everything for the world of pro football.
I am 50. played 12 years of football. problems with my balance and pain when I walk. kids be careful of the sport you choose to play
Mike Gizas as do i. not to mention no short term memory. Balance issues, stuttering, migraines, light sensitivity. Extreme mood changes. legs buckling. Kids, truly consider if a few years of glory is worth spending later years like a child. my wife has to help me with everything.
Jeremy Young . I feel for you brother. I forgot the extreme mood swings. stay strong after all we are Warriors
mr zed Guys, I was given serious brain injury by my former boyfriend. He grabbed me by the hair and threw me backwards and straight down onto.a tile floor. I saw a huge black spot when I hit. I'm shocked he didn't kill me or knock me out. I got a concussion from the man who "loved me."
I could not remember the year or president consistently. I'd get "woogy," which is sort of the like sensation of being drunk, but I don't drink and I don't use any drugs of any kind. Scary when you're stone sober.
I had hyperbaric oxygen treatment. It helped a lot. It wasn't cheap, and BCBS paid for all of 250.00 out of 6,200. In Illinois, they HAVE TO pay for hyperbaorcs is you have an autistic child. so they KNOW it works!
Please don't forget about us domestic violence victims. I never met one I thought "deserved it." If I had met one I thought was a lying bitch, I'd say so, too. And most of my best friends arw men, so i have nothing against men.
Domestoc violence people are brainwashed, and the courts tell them verbatim they're lying, with the evidence right there in front of them. Female judges, too. The man's boot print was embedded on my leg through my jeans. The court had photographs.
I'd be walking around a place I've lived all my life, and not sure who I was with or where I was.
Please, don't leave us out in the cold. Ask the neurologists to look at us, too. I'm.sure you'll see the same thing. My SPECT scan was full of holes, and one huge, notable one where I hit when I was thrown onto my head onto the floor.
You can SEE clear through my brain on SPECT scan.
I've been a Steelers fan since 1972 , my favorite Steeler was and will allways be "MIKE WEBSTER" ; iron MIKE was all know as the "BULL LIKE CENTER" what fascinated me the most about Webster was the way he roared out of the huddle essentially challenging all the defensive linemen by himself .. he was so imposing .. R.I.P.
Mike Webster has left a legacy of one of,if not the greatest NFL center to ever play football! More than that, he was the man who opened up the eyes of those that were closed off to the head injuries of the 70s & 80s & what was the result of them! It's so sad that Mike's life ended so prematurely, as did so many others having delt with CTE, & hopefully the research & testing by these amazing men like Dr Omalu will be able to save so.many lives in the future
I studied Mike as a kid, now my head is messed up. No joke💯🏈💪 I pledged to donate my brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation, to test for CTE after my death.
Confirmed abnormal brain mri. My brain is going to be tested after I die.
Came here after watching the movie Concussion.
Thank you so much to Frontline for covering this very important subject so well!
My daddy went to Monessen from 73-76, Joe Montana went to cross town rival Ringgold 72-75. My dad was old school was actually scouted higher, he played, my father, NT. I saw the effects of real football from the Steel Curtain era. It's the most respected but it hurts how seeing my father end up but it was how prideful he was
When I first started playing football I was forced to play center. I hated it but if I was gonna play it was at center so looked at the best in the game, Mike Webster and Dwight Stephenson. I mimicked everything thing he did from the towel in the back of his pants,the way he taped his wrist and fingers the short sleeves in the cold and the way he blew bubbles with his lips as he broke the huddle. Mike was my idle and I cried like a baby when he passed. I saw the movie Concussion and had to leave halfway through. RIP IRON MIKE ❤
How you doing now bud
@@antekm2639 I’m good now but still get the headaches from time to time
@@jakeknight5118 I'm 16 and starting to play football (not soccer) in the UK, I'm unsure if the hits and stuff are as bad here, haven't had any bad ones in practice yet after 3 weeks but I'm unsure whether I should stick with it, I play reciever currently. Any advice
So sad, Mike was the man! So sad that he died forgotten and in poverty. All of that smashing of his brain for what?? ☹️ BUT thanks to him, we now know just what happens to these guys brains who play high contact sports.
DONT MISS CONCUSSION. AN EXCELENT MOVIE
im watching concussion tomorrow
I'm pretty sure I have CTE. Played through my youth (O and D line), played a year of college (had a concussion first week of practice but never told anyone), and have had a shit ton of mental health problems since. Then I had another concussion a month ago that was severe (blacked out, smacked my left temple on a concrete curb, and had a seizure) and now I have post concussion syndrome, am going to be on disability probably for the rest of my life, have substance abuse problems, live with mom (age 24), have no car, no cell phone, am 6'1 334 pounds... Needless to say, if I live long enough to have kids, they won't be playing football... As you can tell I'm pretty open about my problems so if anyone is interested in asking me questions let me know.
Maybe you should stay off the pills.
I'm so sorry you are dealing with this at such a young age. You need to see a neurologist at once and stay in contact with him. There are also memory exercises you should begin doing now. Good luck to you.
Hang in their Karl. This is just youtube but we see your comment and are rooting for you man. Hope you can qualify for disability.
Keep going. I'm behind you.
Karl Pilkington praying for you
Its more than just football. Its soccer, hockey, rugby, etc. This disease needs to be looked at in every sport
I will never quit football, not even if I lose my hand. I’ll keep playing.
R.I.P. Iron Mike
Why?
@@adamquirke6024 love makes you crazy. That's the problem when we fall in love with the game at such a young age it's hard if not impossible to take it away
@@antekm2639 I can appreciate that
Why would anyone choose to play footabll? I had one concussion accidently and im paranoid for life. Seriously dont touch my head I'll freak out at you
M Theory Enthusiast guy once touched my head. I just missed his skull
M Theory Enthusiast dumb question why would someone want to play football? football is an outlet to a lot of kids in low-income black communities and low-income white communities not every NFL player that you see on Sunday comes from a great homes or a great background.
Thomas Drzik football saved my life. And you’re paranoia is a deeper issue than physical
@@AlejandroSanchez-pl6jw your American football is a blood sport.
God bless you Dr.Omalu you’re always going to be a hero thank you for your compassion for him
God bless you Dr. Omalu! Mr. Webster's feet were hard to look at. He must have been in agony every day. RIP to Mr. Webster. 😢🙏🏽✝️
The irony of the "Iron" moniker.
Too much carbon.
RIP Mike Webster!
I was joining my middle schools but I quit because of concussions
If 4:22 doesn't bring tears to your eyes you're not human, I know it was his choice to play but damn....imagine all those years of glory only to wind up on an autopsy table in that condition
Just started tearing up seeing that..
You don't have to be emotional to be human
Ngl, we watched concussion in class and now my adhd is hyperfocusing on CTE 😐😔 so now I'm probably gonna be around here all night.
Mike Webster during his 18 year football career sustained over 70 thousand blows to his head
Google search was it
Solution: No pads, rigid rules for tackles, and....wait...but,,,,this is Rugby!!!!
LOL
Rugby is nothing but a group of men hugging and holding themselves in one big ass pile.
@@jon8342 while American Football is nothing but mostly white quarterbacks and coaches barking orders at mostly minorities on a field. Where the action stops after every play (about every ten seconds) so the fat American football linesmen get their breaths
People in rugby get a lot of the same injuries.
Also, if they wanted to play rugby instead of football, they'd play rugby wouldn't they?
I was pressured by my peers at a young age to play the game... I’m lucky I don’t fall into peer pressure as easily because this is saddening.
I’ve played football from 4th grade-freshman year of college. My sciatica nerve was partially paralyzed. I willfully recovered with powerlifting. I have zero regrets playing football. Not with the knee injured or my concussions
I'm glad I was a fucking kicker.
I gotta admit I love watching football but I would never play the game,and I think NFL must make a huge change if they don't want the football popularity to decrease through the coming years
football and its fans are a reflection of our society.
For a lot of people it's a social thing. Something to do on Sat. or Sun. and get drunk.
18 years and had the steel curtain he had to go up against in practice daily? Man that’s just tough. Poor man. Rip
I once met Dr. Omalu’s professor, his story is so interesting.
This show is so damn interesting
This scared me. Im not a football player but i find it interesting and very very IMPORTANT for the world to know what the consequences of this sport are.
When I was a kid I saw a movie called Brian's song and got the idea that I wanted to play professional football, I'm so glad that I never played football at any level
the dude clearly didn't take care of him self at all
Wow you’re an asshole he COULDNT u ignoramus he spent 17 years in a routine of getting massive head trauma every day just to have his employer who was like family give him a couple days money for a hotel room that was his “pension” all y’all need to quit running your mouth about a man who was infinitely better human being father uncle and human than 99.9% of the world he doesn’t deserve to get trashed and slandered posthumously thank god he had teammates who were also heroes in their own right Franco Steve Corson Justin K y’all have no respect
Rest in peace big Mike
I'm a kyokushin fighter. Kyokushin is a full contact karate. And we rarely don't have concussions injury because our rules is "no head punch". It's not about the game, it's the rules of the game.
they currently have League Of Denial on Netflix
We loved you webby
Webster is a legend
I watched the movie finally,,,,he was pulling them out himself,,, because of the cte,,,then glueing them back,,, god
CTE also has touched the WWE.
A lot of players play with injuries that would qualify them for medical disability if the were in the military
I'm here again after what happened to Tua.
I just want these fighters on the field and their families to be healthy and happy. Best wishes to them.
I loved playing football. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Smart man to realize early on that the injuries aren't worth it.
That merely depends on how you view football.
@@sebastiang5586 it's senseless violence
@@janbadinski7126 pansy
RIP 52 ❤️💪
Rest In Peace🙏🤍🕊🙏♥️
Cliche guy with the mega mustache yelling, "HIT EM'!' HIT EM'! HIT EM'!"
I just wish, the NFL and its fans, cared enough to take care of these guys. What they did was noble. They have everything they had to a game. And the fans and the billion dollar industry that chewed them up, should've taken care of them when they got sick from the very sport they gave their lives to.
NIce Doc
it's now 2021, why does the NFL still exist after CTE?
People love it and it makes 22 billion a year. Follow the money.
Rules have made it safer, but really it’s just you can’t knock out the receiver/QB.
Sometimes, it takes an outsider to cut through all the bullshit and blind eyes.
It's all the subconcussive hits, not an actual concussion..the concussion may be symptomatic of previous brain trauma
There's a concussion-resistant football helmet called the "Xenith X1." I'd be very interested to know how many concussions would never have occurred in the first place if (a) this helmet had been available forty years ago, and (b) the NFL had mandated its use.
You don't need concussions to get CTE and helmets don't protect against concussions.
The problem is your head coming to a sudden stop and your brain smacking the inside of your skull. No helmet can stop that, as good as the technology has become, sadly
Patient zero, and his family got zero from the NFL? What a DISGRACE!!!!
Do you really think the NFL cares about their players? I seriously doubt it. It's a classic labor management situation. They only have gotten what they have because of their union. NF tried to hide all of this info on CTE. Only about the money, it's business.
Can anybody tell me how painful CTE can be? I just watched the film Concussion and it was scary!
If I was a parent, I would never allow my child to play football. Soccer, basketball, softball or swimming sure! Never football!
Webster =BAD ASS.
Tragic
This was one tough guy. He played like a champion. Got treated like chit by the NFL
If he was inhaling and ingesting superglue byproducts ...
BULL IN THE RING..... who here that played pee wee football all the way up to high school has gone thru this explosive football practice drill?????? We did BULL IN THE RING every day at practice since I was a kid, this was a super violent drill that had many of us seeing stars and some times getting knocked out
Is it true that Mike Webster tazed himself to sleep.
Not just to try to sleep, he tazed himself until his death
@@Skybolter Oh man. That's scary.
@@kasunlalpewickrama9269 That's what happens when CTE destroy's you by INSIDE.
I played football once at recess and now I am autistic, kids be careful of the sport you choose to play
Joe Johnson That's not Autism, it's idiocy you're suffering from.
I am not fond of football but that's idiotic
His wife sounds like a real compassionate, empathetic wife. Só que não.
Sadly Dr. Omalu's brilliant discovery of CTE did not change the NFL or stop people from allowing their children to play. American Culture has become football, drink beer and cheer people getting their brains bashed in, nobody cares about the consequences or true grotesque violence of the game of football, like Dr. Omalu said , " the human being was not designed to play football because there is no protection for the brain when there is an impact/collision sustained by each hit on the field in a football game, every hit causes some form of trauma to the brain, and while it is dangerous for any person to play it is especially damaging to children because the brain is still developing. But this has not stopped kids from playing, its insane really.
He would "Stake his License" that OJ has/had CTE. We'll Never find OUT, though.
Simpson refused to donate his BRAIN, and it will be cremated.
He has given the Finger to America.
Its about everyone 🙏🙌⏩💕💕
dude what stumulants are u taking i have the same issue and not alot works legally
when i first got mu bell rung in football and how noone gave a shit really struck me
70,000 hits to the head
Ali had like 250,000 hits and look what happened to him.
@@brianwalsh1401 Ali's Parkinson is unrelated to Boxing.
Visited this years later and guess what nothing has changed, football is probably more popular than it was and more and more are getting into at even younger ages smh
Webby didn't even make it to his # in age.
Where are the other parts?
Como diz bennet omalu Deus n preparou o ser humano para jogar futebol americano
The price for football glory.
Wouldn't be where we're at today? They are still playing the NFL?
im waching it right now
I was like 5 wondering how players avoided getting concussions
This was when you might get a concussion in the first half, and they might tell you to get back in for the second half of the game! Different time for sure!
There's so many questions that still need to be answered. Such a controversial topic, I hope they continue to find ways to make the game more safe so we don't have to kiss football as we know it good bye.
You will kiss it goodbye eventually, it is not sustainable as it is played for a long time
Where is part 2 etc of this
Nigerian doctors can be a bit cray, I’ve known a number of them 😂
People need to understand the mental health issues realted to this
Not just the mental the physical, one of my coworkers played football throughout high school and experienced several concussions. He’s 31 now and is deaf in his right ear, lost partial vision (lower half), gets migraines and occasionally seizures. He is still pissed his family pressured him into football
Never played football. Had many concussions. Scary af.
I played defensive line, had 2 seconds to get off a block n protect my gap, get off the block n boom RB runs into me. It was like blue lightning in my eyes. Happend twice. Not a concussion but like dam. So the pros must be insane.
A few points.......Mike Webster played football more than just his NFL career. He played in college...he played in high school, he most likely played youth football. This is NOT all on the NFL. Point 2. It is common knowledge that Mike Webster utilized anabolic steroids back in the day before they were banned/illegal. Who is to say his mental illness was/is not due to over use of anabolic steroids? Lots of questions to be answered.
Apples to oranges. Football in the '70s and '80s wasn't the same sport as football these days. In the old days, you could use your head to tackle, you could target the head, if you were a defensive lineman you could slap offensive linemen in the head, etc., etc., etc.
Then explain the Washington State Quarterback who just died a few years ago due to CTE. Or Junior Seau.