"League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis" is an unusual documentary because I would probably assume that just about every sane and objective person would assume that repeated blows to the head would cause permanent injuries. Yet, oddly, until only very, very recently, the NFL strongly denied that repeated concussions might lead to serious long term effects! This episode of "Frontline" outlines the steps that led to research about the long- term effect of playing pro football has on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and ultimately the NFL FINALLY accepting that there MIGHT such a thing in players. However, along the way, the film is interesting because of the intensity of the NFL fighting this research. And, what's most fascinating are the things done by the league that sure make it appear as if they are trying to obstruct, obstruct, obstruct.
Overall, this is a very sad, sobering and comprehensive show--one that would probably trouble many parents who have kids playing football. But, as I mentioned above, it's also a lot of common sense and you wonder why it took everyone so long to even consider that there is a serious relationship between playing ball and long term negative effects on the brain.