"ONE PERSON CAN IGNITE A FIRE THAT CAN LIGHT THE ENTIRE FOREST"

On March 30, 2016 I had the pleasure of meeting a true hero - Dr. Bennet Omalu. He was the keynoter at the Head Injury Association's Awareness Sports Forum at the Hyatt Regency Long Island.

In 2002 Dr. Omalu discovered the presence of degenerative disease in the brain of National Football League (NFL) player Mike Webster. He named the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE. His discovery has proven to be a powerful pebble that has generated waves throughout the troubled waters of youth, college and professional football, as well as other contact sports.

Dr. Omalu was portrayed by Will Smith in the 2015 film Concussion, based on his book of the same name. Prior to that, he was prominently featured in the public affairs television program Frontline and in the book, League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions and the Battle for Truth.

Although the focus of the head injury forum was to raise awareness to protect school-aged athletes from concussions, Dr. Omalu transcended his role as a forensic scientist, inspiring an audience of several hundred people with his deep faith and fortitude.

He began his remarks by recalling that he was born in war-torn Nigeria and describing how he suffered as a child from malnutrition. He revealed that, "Because of the consequences of war, I became a weakling and introvert who was ridiculed."

The turning point in his life came, he remembered, when he realized that "with knowledge you can do all things." This realization ignited what became a lifetime thirst for learning and quest for truth. In fact, he has earned eight degrees and certifications.

Omalu explained that both science and faith seek truth. The role of faith, he said, "is the manifestation of things we do not see," which was the case with Mike Webster and the rest of the world. Dr. Omalu said that it was his deep faith in humanity that led him to wonder about the cause of Webster's destitution, deterioration and death, and, to "speak" to Webster's spirit during the autopsy.

"Whatever happens to the least of us happens to all of us," he told the rapt audience in Hauppauge; and, "what we do for the least of us, we do for all of us." And, so began his spiritual relationship with the deceased Mike Webster.

Omalu has faced enormous obstacles as a scientist. He shared that he was smeared by National Institute of Health which said he was not a reputable doctor. And he was also defamed by the NFL that did all they could to stonewall his discovery and disassociate the notion that repeated blows to the head were the cause of a degenerative brain disease that led to the premature deaths, including suicides, of scores of former players and counting.

Dr. Omalu spoke to the challenge of working in a context of "conformational intelligence" which he explained as when one's "mind conforms to the expectations of society" and not necessarily truth. "How does conformational intelligence hold down a society?" he asked.

Omalu—who portrayed himself as an "outlier," someone who operates outside of the box—concluded his remarks by stating, "One person can ignite a fire that can light the entire forest."

We owe Dr. Omalu a debt of gratitude for his discovery and for his quest for truth, against all odds.

We must demand that those in power in youth, interscholastic and intercollegiate sports protect our children; and we must help our children, from an early age, to think critically and to develop the good sense and courage, without shame, to speak the truth and break the silence.

https://longislandweekly.com/one-person-can-ignite-fire-can-light-entire-forest/

Bio: Andrew Malekoff is the Executive Director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, which provides comprehensive mental health services for children from birth through 24 and their families. To find out more, visit www.northshorechildguidance.org.

BREAKING THE SILENCE

BREAKING THE SILENCE
By Andy Malekoff© 2007

As a student athlete who played competitive contact sports, I learned at an early age not to grumble about aches and pains or even more serious injuries. I learned to “play hurt,” a price that I was willing to pay and that promised me the dual advantage of advancing my standing on the team and garnering the respect of my coaches and teammates. Consequently, I played with broken bones, severe sprains, bruised ribs, painful contusions known as “hip pointers” and concussions. All but the latter could be detected by the naked eye.

I never once told a coach that I was injured. It was their job to figure it out, to observe me in action and then decide whether or not I should be pulled off the field. Keeping quiet and playing hurt were learned behaviors and important values on the field of play – a badge of honor.

Once when watching game films, my high school football coach chewed me out after a kick off when I appeared to be dogging it. “Malekoff, What are you doing, picking daisies?,” he hollered to the delight of my teammates who convulsed in laughter as he played the film clip over and over again. What did not make it into the frame was the knee applied to my head during a full speed collision with an opponent just moments before my screen debut. Only I knew about the collision that left me seeing stars and staggering about trying to maintain my balance. The truth is that I was out cold on my feet. I stayed on the field, continued to play and never told a soul. This was a scene that was repeated over the years.

I recently learned from reading a compelling series of New York Times articles by Alan Schwartz, that concussions in sports have reached epidemic proportions. Schwartz referred to this as a silent epidemic and a public health issue, fueled by a gladiator culture.

According to Schwartz, “At least 50 high school or younger football players in more than 20 states since 1997 have been killed or have sustained serious head injuries on the field.” He goes on to say that the sad truth is that these could have been prevented through better awareness and respect for the severity of a head injury.

He found that girls are even more vulnerable to concussions than boys in the sports that both play, such as soccer and basketball. I doubt that early advocates of Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational institutions, anticipated that as young women and girls exploded onto the sports scene, that they would one day adopt a men’s code of silence. Apparently some have.

What can we do as parents to help to break the silence? If this is a public health issue we must insist that all children and teenagers and their parents be educated early on about the risks, consequences, signs and symptoms of head injury. In addition, young people who are planning to play contact sports require values education that puts the gladiator-play-at-any-cost-culture up for inspection. Adults who care about kids need to offer alternative views and models for demonstrating courage and heart. We must provide a counterforce to the dangerous and false belief that putting one’s well being or life in jeopardy when playing a game is noble.

Competitive sports involves sacrifice, perseverance, loyalty, honor, and courage, all values that will serve one well throughout life. They have served me well. However, maintaining a code of silence about a serious injury that can lead to lifelong consequences is another thing altogether.

Keeping quiet about a head injury is not honorable or courageous. On the contrary, it is ignorant and it is a betrayal of one’s body and mind, and of one’s loved ones.

We must demand that those in power in youth, interscholastic and intercollegiate sports protect our children; and we must help our children, from an early age, to think critically and to develop the good sense and courage, without shame, to break the silence.

This article was originally published in the Anton Community Newspapers, Long Island, NY.