Who is Dr. Bennet Omalu?

 You are doubtless aware of the serious unrest occurring in Sacramento following an independent autopsy performed on 22 year old Stephon Clark.  The autopsy showed that Clark, who was in this grandmother’s back yard, carrying a cell phone, was shot eight times in the back by police officers. You may not know the remarkable story and credentials of the man who performed this autopsy, Dr. Bennet Omalu

 Omalu was born in Nigeria in 1968, the 6^thof 7 siblings.  He entered school at 3 and went to Medical School at 16.  After doing 3 years of medical service in Nigeria, he became disillusioned with the politics of his country and looked for further training in the U.S. He completed a fellowship in epidemiology at the University of Washington, and then went to work at the Columbia University Harlem Hospital Center in New York, completing residency training in anatomic and clinical pathology.  In Pittsburgh he completed fellowships in pathology and neuropathology, gained a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology and an MBA at Carnegie Mellon University.   Omalu became the chief medical examiner in San Joaquin County, California from 2007 to 2017. He resigned after accusing the county’s sheriff of repeatedly interfering with death investigations in order to protect police officers who had killed suspects.  Currently he is a Professor at the UC Davis Department of Medical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. 

Omalu became interested in chronic traumatic encephalopathy  (CTE) after doing an autopsy on the Pittsburgh Steeler Mike Webster in in 2002.  He found ‘tau protein’ in the brain – that affects mood, emotions and executive functions. These findings had previously been seen in boxers.  He published his findings in the journal Neurosurgery in 2005.  The National Football League called unsuccessfully for the article’s retraction. Omalu published similar findings on at least 5 other NFL players who died in their 30’s and 40’s.  He also discovered CTE in the brains of military veterans.   In 2016 the National Football League testified before Congress that they did believe in a link between football and CTE.

A book entitled Concussion, by Jeanne Marie Laskas, was published in 2015. It was made into a riveting movie, Concussion, with Will Smith playing the part of Omalu. Omalu has written several books – his latest is Truth Doesn’t Have a Side: My Alarming Discovery about the Dangers of Contact Sports.  He defines contact sports as football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts, boxing, wrestling and rugby.  Non-contact sports include swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, basketball, table tennis and badminton. Soccer is all right if  ‘headers’ are banned.   Steer your children into these.

The name Omalu is a shortened version of the family name Onyemalukwube, which means “He who knows, speaks”.  Dr. Omalu became a U.S. citizen in 2015; fortunately before Trump’s restrictions on nonwhite immigrants.  He received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Medical Association in 2016 – its highest honor.  

The take home messages for readers of this column – Protect your brain and your children’s brains from repeated blows to the head.  Insist that soccer be played without  headers. The brain is what makes you – you. Keep it safe.

Watch the movie Concussion if you haven’t seen it.

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH   past issues on this blog