Jeanne Marie Laskas, “Game Brain,” GQ, September 14, 2009
The magazine article the film is based on. GQ's website now titles it “Bennet Omalu, Concussions, and the NFL: How One Doctor Changed Football Forever.”
The video
Mike Webster’s Real Story: What the Concussion Movie (2015) Left Out (opens in a new tab)
01 The article and the book
Jeanne Marie Laskas, Concussion (Random House, 2015)
Laskas's book on Dr. Bennet Omalu, published with the film.
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02 Further reading
Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru, League of Denial: The NFL, Concussions, and the Battle for Truth (Crown Archetype, 2013)
Recommended reading, not a source for the video. The book by the ESPN reporters whose investigation the video cites.
Bennet Omalu with Mark Tabb, Truth Doesn't Have a Side: My Alarming Discovery About the Danger of Contact Sports (Zondervan, 2017)
Recommended reading, not a source for the video. Dr. Bennet Omalu's own account.
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03 Documentary and investigations
FRONTLINE (PBS), League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis (2013)
The documentary. Footage and Dr. Bennet Omalu's interview in the video come from it.
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Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada, “NFL board paid $2M to players while league denied football-concussion link,” FRONTLINE and ESPN, November 16, 2012
The retirement plan's disability rulings, Webster's among them.
Greg Garber, “A tormented soul,” ESPN.com, January 2005
Part one of ESPN's series on Webster's life after football.
Greg Garber, “Wandering through the fog,” ESPN.com, January 27, 2005
Part two of the series.
CBS News, “Webster Blames It On Football,” March 11, 1999
04 Court records
Jani v. Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan, 209 F. App'x 305 (4th Cir. 2006)
The appeals court case over Webster's disability benefits.
Associated Press, “Former NFL Player's Estate Wins Disability Benefits,” Insurance Journal, December 18, 2006
The appeals court's ruling for Webster's estate.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, In re: Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, No. 06-3195, April 12, 2007
The federal case against Cyril Wecht, the Allegheny County coroner.
05 The science
Bennet I. Omalu et al., “Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in a National Football League player,” Neurosurgery, vol. 57, no. 1, July 2005
The paper in which Omalu described CTE in a former NFL player.
Alan Schwarz, “Lineman, Dead at 36, Exposes Brain Injuries,” The New York Times, June 15, 2007
Justin Strzelczyk's diagnosis.
Boston University, “NFL Player Dave Duerson Suffered from Advanced CTE,” May 2, 2011
Mark Fainaru-Wada, Jim Avila and Steve Fainaru, “Doctors: Junior Seau's brain had CTE,” ESPN, January 9, 2013
Boston University CTE Center, “Boston University researchers find CTE in 345 of 376 former NFL players,” February 6, 2023
D. H. Daneshvar et al., “Prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy at death in National Football League players: retrospective population based cohort study, 2008-21,” The BMJ, August 25, 2026
06 The settlement
Associated Press, “Judge: NFL, Players To Settle Concussion Lawsuits,” WGCU, August 29, 2013
Jason M. Breslow, “Report: NFL Concussion Settlement Could Shut Out Many,” FRONTLINE, September 20, 2013
Bloomberg, “Court Approves NFL's Concussion Injury Settlement,” Insurance Journal, April 23, 2015
Bryan Toporek, “NFL official acknowledges link between football and long-term brain damage,” Education Week, March 16, 2016
CBS Pittsburgh, “‘It's His Legacy’: Mike Webster's Family Fighting To Be Part Of NFL Concussion Settlement,” January 26, 2018
Yahoo Sports, “Son of 4x Super Bowl Champion Calls Out NFL: ‘He Died Broke, We Are on Welfare,’” August 21, 2025
Webster's son Garrett on the family and the settlement.
NFL Concussion Settlement Program, Program Statistics, as of October 5, 2026
The official claims administrator's figures for awards paid.
07 The film
Concussion (2015), written and directed by Peter Landesman, Columbia Pictures (Sony Pictures)
Will Smith plays Dr. Bennet Omalu and David Morse plays Mike Webster. Short, muted clips from the film are used for commentary, criticism and education, to compare what the film shows with what the record says. All rights remain with their owners.
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Jared Dubin, “Dave Duerson's family among those who have a problem with ‘Concussion,’” CBS Sports, December 26, 2015
Dave Duerson's family on how the film portrays him.
08 Photo and footage credits
Footage
FRONTLINE (PBS), League of Denial (2013); Pittsburgh Steelers (Mike Webster's Hall of Fame speech, 1997); C-SPAN (House roundtable on concussions, March 14, 2016).
Photos
The Pittsburgh Press; The New York Times; UC Davis.
Pages shown
CBS News, ESPN, GQ, Insurance Journal, WGCU, WBUR, FRONTLINE, Education Week, CBS Sports, CBS Pittsburgh, JAMA (1928) and the Fourth Circuit's record.
Some archive photos and footage have no known original source. If one is yours, contact the channel and it will be credited or removed.