Former Maine Black Bear and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Justin Strzelcyk is portrayed in Will Smith’s new movie “Concussion”
Former Maine Black Bears offensive lineman Justin Strzelczyk is portrayed in Will Smith’s new NFL movie called Concussion.
Strzelczyk, who anchored the Black Bear offensive line from 1986-1989 and helped Maine win two Yankee Conference Titles, would go on to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he enjoyed a 8 year playing career after being selected in the 11th round of the 1990 NFL draft.
The 6-6 290 pound Strzelczyk would have his life tragically end in a motor vehicle accident in Herkimer, New York on September 30, 2004 at only 36 years of age. Strzelczyk crashed at 90 miles per hour against the flow of traffic into a tanker truck.
The native of West Seneca, New York had been showing signs of irrational behavior in the months leading up to his tragic death. Strzelczyk’s ex wife and friends say he never sought medical help although Strzelczyk maintained that he did see health professionals for what he referred to as his own bipolar disorder.
It was originally thought that Strzelczyk was under the influence of either drugs or alcohol at the time of his accident but toxicology results disproved that. A postmortem autopsy concluded that Strzelczyk had brain damage at the time of his death, possibly from his years of playing football.
This incident sparked a debate over the seriousness of concussions at the NFL Summitt in June 2007. Neuropathologist Bennet Omalu (played by Will Smith) linked the death of Strzelczyk and also retired NFL players Mike Webster, Andre Waters and Terry Long to what is now known as CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). CTE has been found to cause serious brain damage among former NFL players. Former San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots linebacker Junior Seau and well as former Black Bear and Kansas City Chief Javon Belcher have also been found to have CTE before taking their own lives.
Strzelczyk is played by former NFL player Matt Willig in the movie and Mike Webster, Andre Waters and Terry Long are also portrayed in the film.
This movie is a must see for any football fan. It is extremely powerful and sad all rolled into one, showing the effects that CTE had on these players at such a young age. The movie is now playing nationwide.
