Will Smith is the star of a new film, "Concussion." He's playing the role of Nigerian neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who becomes the National Football League's "public enemy number 1."
With his new role, Will Smith discovers a new disease that former NFL players are suffering from in 2002. The disease, called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is described as "a degenerative illness caused by repetitive head trauma."
The illness can cause depression, dementia and other alterations in one's behavior. Dr. Omalu found the disease by examining the brain of former Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster and later on, Terry Long.
Some scenes in the movie's trailer also highlight some side effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE, such as a man holding up a pistol in his hand.
Mashable claims that that very scene might just be a reference to the publicized suicide of former San Diego Chargers player, Junior Seau.
The film, which is based on a true story, has its first official trailer featuring Dr. Bennet Omalu challenging the very powerful NFL, who tried to cover up Omalu's findings.
A character from the film even perfectly puts it as: "You're going to war with a corporation that own a day of the week."
The NFL has long tried to hide links between football and brain trauma, so that football wouldn't be deemed as a truly dangerous sport.
The trailer even highlights how the league's committee accused Dr. Bennett Omalu of fraud. Omalu even told Frontline, "They went to the press. They insinuated I was not practicing medicine; I was practicing voodoo."
In addition, The New York Times claims that Sony, the company behind the production of "Concussion," altered the film's story in order to avoid protests from the NFL, as evidenced by emails.
"Concussion" hits theatres on Christmas Day, December 25.
Will Smith net worth is $260 million. But with this controversial film sure to be a hit, we'll surely see a rise in Will Smith's figures.
