omalu left pittsburgh.o lodi, california. >> he ends up in the dust bowl of north central california, and he's working as a medical examiner there, as far removed from the nfl as anybody could be and trying to figure out how to stay in it. >> i wish i never met mike webster. cte has dragged me into the politics of science, the politics of the nfl. you can't go against the nfl. they'll squash you. i really sincerely wish it didn't cross my path of life, seriously. >> next time... frontlineinvestigation of the nfl's concussion crisis continues. >> they were in a very serious state of denial. >> so it was becoming almost impossible for the nfl to ignore. >> what does it mean for the future of football? >> an 18-year-old high school athlete with chronic traumatic encephalopathy-- that just shouldn't happen. >> your child could develop a brain injury as a result of playing football. >> don't miss the conclusion of "league of denial." >> go to pbs.org/frontline and watch more of frontline's exclusive interviews w

>> brown: omalu would go further.lier this month, omalu publically called for setting a minimum age of 18 to play football and other high-impact sports like ice hockey and mixed martial arts. >> we do not intentionally expose our children to any risky behavior. that is why we don't let children smoke, we don't let children drive, we don't let children drink, we don't let children go into the military until they become adults. >> brown: julian bailes, who serves as medical director for pop warner football-- the largest youth league in the country, thinks this goes too far. >> where we eliminated head contact in practice, so for the most part that doesn't occur any more. we think the risk in youth football is extremely low risk and lower than ever, and we think that the benefits of participating in such a great sport outweigh the risks. >> brown: bailes believes the n.f.l. must continue to evolve, as does omalu, who this year became a u.s. citizen. >> i think collectively, optimistically, we can find solutions. but to b

omalu. >> you have no idea how bad this could get. >> i have to keep going. men are not machines. we must honor our warrior. >> do you understand the impact of what you are doing? >> tell the truth! tell the truth. >> i think you're going to be an american hero. >> i'm not even an american. that's even better. >> rose: joining me is writer and director peter landesman, and two of the stars will smith and gugu mbatha-raw. what brought this together for you and you and you? >> there was a silent epidemic of football players committing suicide, disappearing, falling into financial ruin over the years. an 2009g.q. article is how the film came to be. it's a critical mass at the right time, the right place, the right story. >> rose: did you reach out to talk to dr. omalu? >> he was involved from the very beginning. he's such a fabric of our families as filmmakers. i'm an old journalist. i immerse midself completely. it was the first and last stop. >> rose: and casting will smith? >> what's great a

bennet omalu. he's got a lot of headlines. also for the op-ed where he's says to parents, don't let your kids play football. we'll talk to him about that. >>> now to the hot air balloon that came down in the middle of a san diego neighborhood. everyone on the ground racing to save it from crashing into homes. t.j. holmes is here with that story. good morning. >> reporter: you remember the gagame tug owar. imagine playing that against a 2.5-ton hot air balloon with lives and property a at stake. that's what a group of neighbors in cifornia had to do. a hot air balloon carrying about a dozen ople nearly crashes into this rancho santa fe neighborhood. families scrambled to get ouout of their homes. >> this is quite a thing. >> reporter: and watch nervously. >> the balloon was going in the wrong direction. it was going to land on the intersection. cars were going back and forth. moments as it runs directly into a tree. flames tangling dangerously with the branches. it continues to fall. the pilot decid

bennet omalu.er: his discovery, chronic traumatic encephalopathy. it is found mostly in athletes who play contact heads like football. >> hard shot on welker. >> reporter: the long-term effects can lead to dementia, even suicide. >> you're going to war with a corporation that owns the day of the week. >> reporter: in a recently published new york times op ed titled don't let kids play football, the doctor rwrote, asa society, the question we have to answer is, when we knowingly and willfully allow a child to play high-contact sports, are we endangering the child? >> i am not done! >> he is not done. he's here with us right now. dr. bennet omalu. it's so good to see you again. i watched the film last night. having spent time with you, will smith really got it right. adds you know, he got a golden globe nomination. he said i'm grateful to the hfpa for recognizing dr. omalu's story. he'll see you at the golden globes. >> thank you for having me. will smith is such a wofrl individual. and he reminds me

bennett omalu. so i worked for a little while with him. and then i worked with a dialect coach.erian comedian, somebody sent me. and he was talking. and he said will smith is playing a nigerian. and some of the haters are saying that his accent is not authentic. but i say that is not true am i say he sounds like a nigerian with a concussion. (laughter). >> trevor: so, okay, for those that don't know. concussion is a brilliant movie based on a true story about omalu, a brilliant, brilliant pathologist-- pathologist who is basically the man behind the discovery that concussions were leading to brain damage in the nfl. >> in the nfl. so they-- basically he discovered that cte, kroing, traumatic encephalopathy is basically-- it's a new disease that is specific to the repift head trauma. >> trevor: what was crazy for me was, in the story, i didn't realize how much pushback there was. the nfl was against him for a long time. some people in the media were working with that. it was a tough story and interestingly enough, in the movie, that was a story. and outside of the movie that beca

omalu, he uncovered a degenerative brain disease that effects athletes. it's been confirmed to have nfl players. the movie shows how dr. omalu fought for it all to be known. >> what do you want. >> we want you to say you made it up. >> i made it up? ? >> they're accusing you of fraud. >> in you retract they decline. this all goes away. >> why are they doing this is this. >> they're terrified. they have 20 million people driving their product on a weekly basis, the same way they crave food. the nfl owns a day of the week. >> dr. ben omalu is with us and the director and writer of condition "concussion." the nfl was not going to be happy with this story and hasn't from the beginning. did you get push back from the nfl and why did you take on the story? it is a zeitgeist issue. i played football through college. i get the power the grace the joy of it all but to me this is an issue that became undeniable. because it faces our children and the world spends super bowls watching this game and while we watching are we complicit. do we become part of the problem

bennet omalu. it's so good to see you again. i watched the film last night. having spent time with you, will smith really got it right. adds you know, he got a golden globe nomination. he said i'm grateful to the hfpa for recognizing dr. omalu's story. he'll see you at the golden globes. >> thank you for having me. will smith is such a wofrl individual. and he reminds me of my -- my childhood fate. and believe in the american perfectionism. he epitomizes that per fesks. he took my story and the story of cte from the depths of the california central valley to the peak of the mountain top of the american mountain and the american psyche. and for this, i am profoundly grateful. i wish him the best of luck and may piece with with him. >> it's bring something much attention to an issue that not only affects, the nfl, peewee, all contact sports. you made headlines not just for the movie be you for your op ed where you really talk to parents and you said, kids should not be playing peewee football. not playing contact sports. what is your message to them? >> high-im

bennet omalu, the doctor who first discovered cte in football players... >> i've found a disease thateen. >> narrator: has been turned into a hollywood movie. >> the nfl went out of its way to try to smash and marginalize bennet omalu. now he's being played by will smith in a hollywood film. so the nfl's long effort to try to prevent that from happening has failed. >> narrator: also, dr. ann mckee has now examined the brains of 92 former nfl players. 88 tested positive for cte-- 96%. work that is starting to have an impact, with news this year that shocked the nfl establishment. >> 49ers linebacker chris borland has retired... >> borland is calling it a career after one season. >> decided to retire from the nfl due to concussion concerns. >> i couldn't really justify playing for money and i think what i wanted to achieve put me at too great of a risk, so i just decided on another profession. >> narrator: just one year earlier, he achieved the dream of many american boys... >> the san francisco 49ers select chris borland, linebacker, wisconsin. >> it was a dream come true. i can rememb

omalu was here yesterday. congratulations on the golden globe nomination. >> thank you, thank you very much. that's -- it's going well. this one, i was a little conflicted when i first took this film so it feels good that people are responding well to it. >> and i'm going to talk about how you were conflicted in just a moment but first, following him around, he performs autopsies. you really spent a lot of time to get the sense of who this man is, didn't you? >> yeah, he is such a beautiful man. he was here yesterday, so he is -- he's just sweet and brilliant. he has eight degrees. you know, so he's a man of a deeply spiritual man, you know, so it's like how he blends those two things that -- the science and the spirituality into one just gorgeous being. >> when someone is on his table he treats them as a patient speaking to them. >> yes, i saw him perform four autopsies, so, you know, because you know i take my work seriously, you know, so i'm committed. so, i went in there with him and an autopsy is aggressi

omalu, telling robin roberts no matter how protective the helmet, it won't stop head injuries nats omalu demo look at what happens to your brain when you have an impact (hits jar) the brain bounces around the skull. assuming you take padding. this padding will simulate the helmet, no matter how thick it is, look at what happens (hits jar again). ryan smith what difference does improving the equipment really make when a head-to- head impact or some sort of very hard impact could traumatize the brain no matter how thick the outer-protection layers are. betsey nabel you can improve the rules and you can improve the safety of the equipment ryan smith do you think we can ever stop head injuries in football? betsey nabel probably not. but i think we can minimize 'em to make...the game as safe as possible. for good morning america, ryan smith, abc news, new york. one restaurant is saying enough is enough -- they want to wish everyone a merry christmas. and they don't care if that offends you. coming up, hear from the restaurant's c-e-o...and how customers are reacting. you're watching channel 1

omalu long-term brain damage suffered so many of its players because of head injuries on the field. >> i spent some time with him and i him perform autopsies. >> what was that like? >> it's the completedismantling of a human body. the way that he performs an aw autops this beautifully pack dox call combination of science and spirituality. >>he's going to war with a corporation th has 20 million people on a weekly basis craving theiproduct. >> how did it make you that first of all that he was goi to play you -- >> i was excited for him. when i met will, he's good guy. >> tell the truth. >> how you think this film is going to resonate people? >> people going to the theater ho do come out with tha truth and with that reality, i hope we captured it in a way i the film that will inspire people to fight what it means to be an american. >> they have str this isn't an antifootball mo making people have all of the information out there about the ri risks. >> that's very good information to have. >>> will smith is battling jennifer lawrence who als had a movie open today and this one perfect ho

smith plays omalu in the film. sony pictures says it is offering players and one guest.....ree admission to the movie that opens today. sony says the offer is for the duration of the film's run. deborah: the iowa hawkeyes are on their way to pasadena, california for the 2016 rose bowl. a charter plane departed yesterday... carrying its load of passengers who have just one week to go to prepare for the rose bowl. the last time the hawkeyes were in the rose bowl was 25 years ago. and as legegdary eastern ioio sportscaster bob brooks waited to he recalled his trip with iowa in which he said exactly as planned. have a big ceremony a pep rally. well, it snowed, it sleeted and we finally wound up leaving from moline." deborah: but the hakeyes to make e that night before the california deborah: face off with ucla in the foster farms bowl tomorrow. the huskers have been in santa clara all week preparing for the bruins and they are ready to roll. alex walker brings us a preview. in just under 48 hours, nebraska will face of

omalu's findings. three days before the movie hits theaters, multiple reports have the league reneging on a $30 million grant to a brain research group. led buy leading critic of the league, dr. stern. the nfl says it's setting the grant aside for another project. and e-mails made public from the sony hack scandal seem to indicate the studio tried to avoid the nfl's rath by softening parts of the film. one august 2013 e-mail from dwight kanes reads, we'll develop, to ensure we're telling a dramatic story and not kicking the hornet's nest. >> that wouldn't surprise me, because they down played the concussion situation for such a long time. >> joe lamaleur. >> if the nfl had a way of altering the film in any way of course they are trying to soften it. >> it should be noted sony films has no formal relationship with nfl. as for players like delamaleur, he is one of several players collectively receiving $1 billion. he says he is keeping his grandchildren away from the sport. >> we have five grand sons --

omalu's findings.re the movie hits theaters, multiple reports on reneging on a leading brain research group. the reason, according to reports, the boston research is a leading critic, dr. stern. the nfl denies that. in handing it out, it's setting the grant aside for another project. emails made public from the sony hacking scandal made it apparent that the nfl tried to soften parts of the film. one august 2014 email from senior studio executive from dwight canes reads, we'll develop message with the help of a consultant to make sure that we're telling a dramatic story and not kicking the hornet's nest. >> it doesn't surprise me. they have downplayed the concussion situation for some time. >> a hall of fame guard. >> if the nfl did have a way of alternating the film or altering it in any way, of course they're going to try to soften it. >> it should be noted that sony pictures has no formal business relationships with the nfl. and the film's director strongly denies any effort to soften the story. as f

bennet omalu is an immigrant way contact sports would be played and change forever. now the story is in "concussion take a look. >> when i was a boy, heaven was . you could be anything, you could do anything. i' discovered this. >> you don' t speak for them. i found a repetitive head trauma chokes the brain. to you. you have turned on the lights of their biggest demand. -- biggest boogeyman. >> you are going to war with the corporation that owns day of the week. >> they have to listen to us, as big as they are. >> you have no idea how bad this could get. >> i have to keep going. >> they want you to say you made it all up. >> they continue to deny my work. men continue to die. >> sometimes in life you are asked to leave it alone. >> >> who are you? >> tell the truth! tilde karen: one mit student is taking own hands, helping young athletes train smarter and safer through innovative technology. formed by ben harvatine , who wrestled when he was in school. what did you think when you heard the film was coming out? ben: definitely excited. one of the biggest challenges we

omalu is now pleading with parents not to allow their kids to play football at all!es constant breast to the head constant blows cause irreversible damage. depression, memory loss, suicide, even the threat of dementia. >> this has never been about me. it's been rather about the players. about the families. >> that was ron jones reporting there. the movie concussion will be in theaters on christmas day. >>> we have an important weekend to look forward to in terms of weather. there's a little bit of a mixed bag something of everything coming in. the embarcadero lit up for the season n terms of storm totals. kentfield 1.5" totals beginning on wednesday night right through now. concord about two-thirds. livermore half inch. san jose got rain at .28" and here's how it looks on the hi- def doppler. a few scattered showers offshore. but unless you're fishing tonight you won't be seeing much of anything. it's drying out. the low pressure is out of the bay area. it left behind a good deal of snow up in the sierra. and there's more on the way. moisture up here in the gulf is g

omalu took a lot of heat from the nfl saying you're anti-football. you're anti-sports and you too approached it at first going i'm not quite sure about it because your son plays -- >> my son played for four years and it was some of the most beautiful time that we have had together. this is not an anti-football movie. you know, i love football. i grew up in philly. i'm a football fan. my eagles, you know, so it was a very inconvenient truth, the reality of the science and as a parent, i knew that i didn't know when my son was playing football. i didn't know that repetitive head trauma from the game could because long-term brain injury. >> that's what dr. omalu was about, finding the truth, >> but for me as a parent i was impelled to deliver this film to the world? and you really did. you did that. i cannot believe it's been 25 years since "fresh prince of bel-air." i think we have some of the first episodes. >> oh, no in it , it all started here. you could not have known 25 years ago it would have the legs it had. >> does not look like a guy nominated

omalu is even more strident.rote an op-ed for "the new york times" entitled "don't let kids play football." and that is the message millions are going to hear when they watch "concussion." dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, new york. >> and still ahead, it has been a whirlwind year in politics, as the nation gears up for next year's presidential election. we're taking a look at 2015's most memorable moments in politics. next. ♪ (vo) some call it giving back. we call it share the love. during our share the love event, get a new subaru, and we'll donate $250 to those in need. bringing our total donations to over sixty-five million dollars. and bringing love where it's needed most. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. whether your car is a red car. a white car. a blue car. a red, white, and blue car. a green car. a car with this on it. a car with this in it. a car with wings. a car with a tail. a car with a fin and a tail. all you have to do is plug in hum for a smarter, safer car. diagnostic updates, certified mechanics h

bennett omalu, he's more strident.an op-ed for "new york times" entitled, don't let kids play football. and that is the message millions are going to hear when they watch "concussion." dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, new york. >> our thanks so san ya for that report. now, cte has some football players running scared. this past year three nfl players swore off the game because they said they were afraid they would ultimately end up in a morgue. another sad story that ended in a blitz of violence like junior seau both committed suicide in the throes of cte. so little is known about cte. and there's no way to determine while the players are still alive if they have it. but a study hoping to change that lost one of its biggest backers just this week. guess who? that's right, the nfl. espn's outside the lines reportreport ed yesterday that the nfl vetoed for the study.eviously set aside i want to talk to christine brennan. christine, we should say this cte study is going to get funded any way. the national institutes of health is go

bennett omalu, the nigerian-born pathologist who found out what kind of damage the repeated hits can do to a football player's brain. same day that church used to own. >> someone says in the film the nfl owns a day of the week. >> yeah. were you worried about taking them on? >> i'm not expecting to be invited to the super bowl next year. denzel will probably get my tickets this year. but after meeting dr. omalu and getting up to speed on the science i f ft solid that i'd be willing to take whatever i had to take to deliver the information. >> you'd be willing to take the hit essentially. >> yeah. >> truth is he's been up for a challenge all of h h life. >>ill smith w w already a successful recording artist when he was tapped to star in a hit tv series. he had zero acting experience. but it wasn't much of a stretch teenager. >> it t amazing, you certainly have grown, will. >> well, we all have. >> but this was a stretch. >> the book is primarily about paralysis. >> in "six degrees of separation" smith played social climbing street hustler and he got so into the role he had tough time