Bennet Omalu

Bennet Omalu benefited the sports world by discovering the brain disease, CTE, which can cause serious damage to the brain. Bennet Omalu found the disease CTE and linked the disease with American football. "Dr. Bennet Omalu is a Nigerian doctor who specializes in neuroscience. He was the first to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). He discovered and publicized the link between American football and CTE, which can cause permanent brain damage" (Biography in Context). Omalu was the first person to discover chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) inside a human's brain. CTE was a disease that could cause permanent brain damage and was gained by excessive hits to the head, like someone in football. It was 2002 when Omalu performed an autopsy on a former NFL player. During that autopsy is when he discovered CTE. "In 2002 he carried out an autopsy of legendary former NFL player Mike Webster, who died at the age of 50, homeless, desperate and alone. Dr Omalu realised that Webster had been suffering from dementia caused by head traumas he had sustained on the pitch" (Biography in Context). Omalu performed an autopsy on Mike Webster, a former NFL player, in 2002.Webster had obviously been suffering from head trauma and Omalu researched his brain. That was when Omalu discovered CTE in Mike's brain. By finding CTE, Omalu has brought attention to the risks of football and how dangerous the game is.

As Omalu was trying to expose the risk of CTE to the world and the NFL, he received many hurtful messages about his race, accent, and his finding of CTE, but he fought to be heard.Omalu had been sent many emails, most of them were bad and racist towards him. "Some of the emails because of my skin color and my accent. There are just some people who believe that intelligence is exclusive to only certain types of people or a certain group of people. And I know some of those people; that is the very disheartening thing.  I know some of those people" (Los Angeles Times).He received many hurtful emails about his skin color and his race. Some from people that are jealous of his intelligence. Some of the people sending him hurtful emails were his friends. His friends were sending him racist emails trying to dishearten him because of his discovery of CTE. Even fellow doctors also tried to discredit Omalu of his findings by trying to prove that CTE is fake. "Although other researchers have recognized Omalu's work as essential to directing attention to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in athletes, some have said that he did not actually discover the disorder nor name it, as he has asserted. "An African American called me to say that effort is pretty much code, like calling me the n-word.""(Student Resources in Context).Other doctors and scientist have criticized his research by saying racist comments and trying to disprove that he even discovered the disease. Many people believed he stole credit for finding CTE and have said many racist things about him being a doctor. Discovering CTE was a great finding, but since football is a main sport in the U.S. people reacted against Omalu in a racist and hurtful way. They thought he was against football and the NFL, but actually he was just trying to protect people from being seriously injured.

Omalu's research has been beneficial to the world of contact sport athletes by showing the risks of the sports they play, and protected them from brain injuries. Omalu's research about CTE made sports franchises to make the games safer for the athletes that play, saving multiple lives and lowering the chances of them gaining the disease."Omalu continued to compile evidence, provide testimony, and spread awareness. In the following years, the NFL gradually introduced more rules to reduce collisions, particularly to players' heads. Contact with opposing players' heads was punished more severely, kickoffs were shortened to minimize head-on, full-speed collisions, and players were evaluated much more closely after hits"(Biography in Context).Because of Omalu's evidence for CTE the NFL has made many new rules that minimize blows to the head during football games. His research has enforced the game's head on head contact rules and made it safer for the players. Since Omalu discovered CTE, his research has impacted many contact sports around the world for the better. "Recognition of the condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) -- caused by years of repeated blows to the head is having a dramatic effect on the sports of rugby, boxing and even football. Forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu, played by Will Smith in the new movie Concussion, was the first to bring to light the shocking impact on the lives of those affected by CTE just over a decade ago"(Biography in Context).Omalu's discovery of CTE has impacted the world of contact sports and showing how dangerous they are. His research helps people realize the dangers of head on head sports. Sports like Boxing, football, rugby, and other contact sports can cause CTE and Omalu's research helps protect people from it.Omalu's research has been essential to contact sports because they learned the risks of playing them. The CTE attention has caused the sports to gain new rules that try to avoid blows to the head and save many lives.

Bennet Omalu, the first to discover the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, became a hero by discovering a dangerous disease for athletes, fighting for racial rights, and saving many lives with his research. While he was researching CTE and trying to expose it into the spotlight, Omalu faced many challenges like being racially harassed, mocked, and threatened. But he kept going, put the risk of CTE into the spotlight and saved many lives of athletes. Bennet Omalu was an inspiration because he discovered a disease that could ruin many people's lives. But not that, he also fought to be heard and never gave up in what he believed in. He fought for several years trying to expose CTE for what it is while the NFL tried to hide it and fans as well as doctors racially threatened him. But he still never lost heart and got his discovery of CTE into the public spotlight. Bennet Omalu, he was just a doctor before his discovery, and then he became someone who fought for the right cause and never gave up. That proves that you don't have to be strong and mighty, to be a hero.