didn't know mike webster. in his line, he says, in death, everybody is equal. everyr every corps tells a story. what was he trying to do? what did he discover, exactly? >> bennett didn't even know football. bennett came from nigeria in 1994 to be the best version of himself. this is an immigrant story. he came here to be a good american. he's working in a morgue at an autopsy. he gets the body of mike webster on the table. he didn't know. >> they said, this is a big deal. he's a center. they said, it's the best football player in the game. which game is that now? he knew nothing. he's the first to do an autopsy of a brain and finding this disease in the tissue and he thought that he would be helpful to tell people what he found. >> and why do you think the nfl reacted the way they did? >> well, the nfl, it's sort of like the tobacco industry, did the tobacco industry really want to say, you know what, this is bad for you? you know, the nfl has a stake in. i'm not against the nfl. i'm not trying to take down the nfl. i love football. i love the game. honestly, a

the same brain disease that struck former players like mike webster and junior say out. >> he remembers every layer to every song that comes on the radio. -- he remembers every song that comes on the radio. >> reporter: his eyes lit up when he heard the music but he struggles to remember what he had for lunch. >> every football player knows you are signing a contract with the devil. >> reporter: a contract, so many are willing to sign. with you to be thinking? >> tomorrow. -- >> reporter: would he do it again? >> he would do it tomorrow. >> reporter: his son is a realist, there probably aren't many more days like this left. >> it is really scary, you want to be like a can't and say, i don't want to talk about it but, it is real. unfortunately, now, it is very real. >> reporter: you were a hero that day. >> i was? >> reporter: doctors can't diagnose cte until a patient passes away but he is do to earn money from the concussion settlement. he is a legend. >> it sadly we might be hearing more stories like this. >> it is coming. you will see more of it. >>> turning to weather right now we h

toward the end of his life, mike webster was exhibiting psychotic behavior. he destroyed the memorabilia. members of his family felt threatened by him. when they did the medical exam after he died, he was holding the skin tonight with tape in some instances on his feet in lieu of shoes. that behavior has now been blamed on cte thanks to the medical examiner who was in effect handed the brain of mike webster of the pittsburgh steelers. that started all of this. we're also joined on the phone by bob costas of nbc sports. bob, your reaction to this news about a man so many of us just grew up loving? >> you and mike laid out what a glamorous figure he was. what an icon figure he was in new york in the '50s and '60s an then primarily on "monday night football." but what distinguishes this from the other cases really, brian, just how famous and glamorous the name attached to it is. recently, we learned that 87 out of 91 deceased former nfl players whose families presented their brains for examination, 87 of the 91 displayed cte-like evidence. now, granted that's sk

i got to talk to him about his brown -- groundbreaking work when he examined the brain of mike webstertired professional football player. >> after 5 or 10 or 20 years you will begin to develop a constellation of symptoms that might include major depression, mood disorders, bipolar disorder , chronic alcoholism, drug abuse , lowered intelligence. >> he says this cannot the reverse down there is no,. that is why he felt the need to speak out. >> i always tell people, sometimes something we desperately want may not be good for our health. >> i asked him, would you like your child to play a context for such as football or hockey? >> within my free will, as an american, i personally would not let my child play. >> that was probably the most powerful statement he could make. tran03's research says this -- dr. bennet omalu 's research says this can happen with or without reported concoctions and with or without a helmet. helmets do not prevent this type of injury. >>> mark tamayo coming off his heart weekend, i should say -- hot weekend, i should say cold weekend. >> everyone was bundled up.

about the groundbreaking work and started back in 2002 when he examined that the brain of the mike websterred professional football player. >>> what happened is that after five, ten, 20 years, you will begin to -- develop and a symptom that will met that may include major dip russian, mood disorders, bipolar disorders, chronic alcoholism, drug abuse, -- he says when the permanent damage occurs, it cannot be reversed and there's no cure. >> that's why he felt the need to speak out. >>> is a physician, and pathologist, i always tell people sometimes we desperately want may not be good for our health. >>> i asked him, would you let your child layer contact sports football or hockey . >> within my freedom and liberty is -- as an american, i personally wouldn't let my child be. >> that's probably the most powerful statement he would make. doctor bennet omalu shows that the chronic brain disease in long-term effects could happen would overdose symptoms in the short-term, -- short term, with or without reported documented concussion and with or without a helmet. helmet does not prevent this type

bennet omalu, found it in the brain of steelers hall of fame center mike webster during an autopsy. can only be diagnosed in the dead. the late hall of fame tight end john mackey had it, and so did 87 other former nfl players with serious symptoms whose families donated their brains to an ongoing study being conducted at boston university. >> kroft: do we really know that playing football causes c.t.e.? >> robert stern: do we really know that smoking causes cancer? >> kroft: dr. robert stern, who directs the clinical research for boston university's c.t.e. center, says the science is still in its infancy, but the evidence indicates a strong connection. >> stern: we know from all the neuropathologically confirmed cases of c.t.e. that every case has had one thing in common, a history of repetitive head impacts. that means that... >> kroft: it's not good for you. >> stern: ...it's not good for you. it's a necessary variable to get this disease. but just because you hit your head a bunch, doesn't mean you're going to get the disease. so we have to figure out why one person gets it and a

who's a brilliant forensic neuropathologist and the first person diagnosed was an old steeler of mike webstering out of his truck and in train stations and when doctor began to study his brain tissue, we found the kind of damage that, you know, he had only found previously in people with dementia or by the way people who had boxed for a living. and now obviously, we know more about this than we ever did before but that hit that you just showed, i mean, it's a vivid memory. i grew up a giants fan in upstate new york and teammates would say later, they thought frank was dead in what moment. he was stretched out flat on his back and in the world where we discuss con suggestions so often, brian, because it's better for business than calling them what they are which is brain wounds, that was really the first famous concussion in nfl history. >> so if you're the nfl, mike, this is a tough one. it's a violent game. players have only gotten bigger, stronger, faster. we've seen head to head hits. we saw quarterback of the rams as recently as last weekend punch drunk, staggered and allowed to stay in t