Week 10 Post 2: Bennet Omalu

     Bennet Omalu is a Nigerian American physician. Omalu is credited as the first to discover and publish findings on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, beginning with Mike Webster's autopsy performed by Bennet Omalu. Upon raising awareness of CTE, he faced many obstacles, one of the biggest being the rejection of the information by the NFL. The NFL was insistent on concealing CTE because they knew that owning up to the reality of the dangers of football would cause a loss in players, and therefore a loss in revenue in one of America's biggest money makers. He also faced racism as people discredited his work, and he ultimately lost his job due to the controversy. He still continued to advocate for the awareness of CTE, which made extreme progress into today, as more physicians and researchers continue to develop the world's understanding of CTE. Omalu is now a professor at University of California, Davis and is the President and Medical Director of Bennet Omalu Pathology.

    The stigma of mental health in America was clearly evident in Omalu's journey of publishing CTE. The rejection of the NFL and other institutions contributes to the lack of awareness, funding, and research not just for CTE, but for mental illness as a whole. The importance of political and economic success in America has drowned out the importance of the mental health of society. Since American society is built upon political and economic pillars, it is extremely difficult to make room for mental health as a top priority. This is one reason why CTE was rejected by so many places for such a long time, and a reason why there is not enough research or awareness for any mental disorder.